The Sindh government has inaugurated the partial 9.1 kilometer section of the Malir Expressway, which is part of a larger 39 kilometer project expected to be completed by 2025.
The project was officially opened by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who attended the ceremony with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and other senior officials of the PPP, Express News reported.
This new expressway running from Qayyumabad to Shah Faisal has been named Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Expressway in honor of the late PPP leader.
The expressway, when fully operational, is expected to ease traffic congestion on Karachi’s roads, providing a direct link to key industrial areas and the city’s existing road network.
During the opening ceremony, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah described the Malir Expressway as the largest public-private partnership infrastructure project in the province and the country.
He explained that the total cost of the project is approximately 55 billion rupees, with the Sindh government contributing about 32 billion rupees. Commercial banks, development finance institutions and the public-private partnership have jointly financed the remaining 23 billion rupees.
The 39 km stretch of Malir Expressway begins at Korangi Creek Avenue and extends all the way to the Malir River.
After completion, it will serve as an alternative route to Shahrah-e-Faisal and connect to the Karachi-Hyderabad Expressway (M-9) near Kathore. This road will significantly reduce the traffic burden on Karachi’s congested city roads.
Murad Ali Shah further emphasized that when the expressway is fully operational by 2025, it will provide faster and more efficient access to industrial zones, thereby boosting economic activity in the region.
