Mr. Ismail Suttar, President Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed deep concern on the inordinate delay in the construction of the Bridge on Hub River and the pathetic condition of the causeway.

He was presiding over the urgent meeting of the Lasbela Chamber called for discussing the concerns of the industries in Lasbela on the bridge construction and the situation of the causeway. He mentioned that the Hub Bridge is the main connection between Sindh and Balochistan through Lasbela District. The Bridge collapsed due to heavy rains and flooding in the Hub River in the monsoon of 2022. As a result, the logistics and travelling were affected badly. Needless to say, it needed immediate attention to address, and NHA assured of it, however, the progress on construction is highly disappointing and contrary to all the promises made by NHA.

It is now over a year since the collapse of the bridge. Commuters are alternatively forced to use the causeway, which too is in extremely bad condition, causing traffic jams and accidents. NHA need to repair it and make it useable for light and heavy transport using this as an unavoidable alternative.

Mr. Ismail said that we are expecting the start of monsoon rains any time, and the causeway must be repaired immediately to ensure the traffic flow of the industries and the public.

Mr., Ismail also mentioned that Lasbela has Balochistan’s largest organised industrial cluster. Industries are facing a challenging situation, and the logistic challenges have further aggravated the situation for running the business, bringing raw materials to the factories located here and forwarding the produced goods to the port and the customers within the country. The absence of a proper surface connection of Hub, with the port of Karachi and the rest of the country made it impossible to promptly fulfil our commitment to local and international customers. The production losses result in heavy revenue losses to the government. Any further delays in the restoration of logistics through the construction of the causeway and the construction of the Bridge would result in irrecoverable losses to the business and the nation.

The meeting urged NHA to urgently start work on the causeway and speed up the Bridge construction as the matter has already been delayed, and rains could start any time.