KARACHI                    -               Member of National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Qadir Patel chaired a high-level meeting of Maritime Standing Committee here at the KPT head office on Saturday to review progress made on resolving the parking issues of trucks around port areas.

The meeting, called by Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi, was attended besides others by KPT Chairman Rear Admiral (R) Jamil Akhtar HI(M), Adviser to Ministry of Maritime Affairs Mahmood Moulvi, DIG Traffic Javed, Deputy Commissioner (DC) West Fayyaz Solangi, representatives of Port Terminal operating companies, representatives of goods transporters and high-ranking officials of the KPT.

The meeting focused on finding solutions to resolving the problem of traffic congestion being faced by the goods transporters on Maripur Road and Keamari Road. KPT Chairman Rear Admiral (R) Jamil Akhtar, while assuring complete support for the resolution of traffic issues, also informed the meeting of the meetings he had held with the transporters. He requested MNA Abdul Qadir Patel to seek approval of the provincial government for the procurement of 11 acres of land along Lyari River.

Patel informed the committee that Layari River embankment had been declared part of urban forest project. He further informed that he had brought home to Sindh Minister for Local Bodies Syed Nasir Hussain Shah the importance of the said land for the parking of heavy vehicles.

The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Fayyaz Solangi shared his presentation with the meeting to pinpoint development issues of the land.

It was also pointed out by the DC that around 600 trucks could be parked on the land. KPT Chairman Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar suggested taking traffic engineers on board for a proper solution to the problem.

DIG Traffic Javed assured that Director Traffic Engineering Department will be asked to suggest an entry to the proposed parking area in a way that further congestion was not caused on the roads.

Port Terminal operators were also directed by the KPT chairman to make their trucking operations further efficient to ease traffic blockage on roads, leading to the respective port areas.

Another temporary parking area at South Wharf of KPT was also offered by the KPT chairman to ensure further relief for commuters on Keamari Road.

Qadir Patel and KPT chairman agreed to expedite working to resolve this issue in a way that parking space for heavy vehicles was available within one month.

Federal Minister Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi will be given a detailed briefing on the progress in this regard tomorrow on Monday (February 3, 2020).