Bilawal to open 39KM Karachi corridor

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is scheduled to inaugurate Karachi’s Shahrah-e-Bhutto on May 23, according to Sindh ministers and local media reports published this week. The road, also referred to in official project material as the Shahrah-e-Bhutto Expressway and previously known as the Malir Expressway, is a roughly 39-kilometer access-controlled corridor running along the Malir River. Social media posts on May 22 showed ceremony preparations and described Bilawal, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, as the chief guest for the opening. Sindh officials have said the route is meant to cut travel times and ease congestion on key city approaches. ### Which road is Bilawal opening in Karachi? The Sindh government’s public-private partnership unit describes Shahrah-e-Bhutto as a 3x3 access-controlled corridor stretching about 39 kilometers from Korangi Creek Avenue to the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway, or M-9, near Kathore. The project page says the route is designed to serve commuters as well as heavy traffic linked to Karachi Port, Korangi Industrial Area, Landhi Industrial Area, Port Qasim and other industrial zones. (pakistantoday.com.pk) Pakistan media reports this week described the opening as the public launch of Shahrah-i-Bhutto on May 23. Pakistan Today reported that Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said Bilawal would inaugurate the project that day after an inspection visit. ### What have officials said about the opening date? May 18 reports in Pakistan Today, ProPakistani and The Nation all said Bilawal was due to inaugurate the road on May 23. (pppunitsindh.gov.pk) The Nation, citing PPP Sindh General Secretary Senator Waqar Mehdi, said the formal inauguration was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and described the project cost as 57 billion Pakistani rupees. (pakistantoday.com.pk) May 22 social media posts matched that timeline. The posts, including one highlighted in the source briefing from X user @sbaloch044, showed photos from the site and said the inauguration would take place the following day. Those posts support the date but do not replace the ministerial statements and published reports that set it out earlier in the week. (nation.com.pk) ### How much time do officials say the corridor will save? Sindh officials have presented the road as a travel-time project. The PPP unit’s project page says the corridor is intended to reduce travel time from Qayyumabad to M-9 to 25 minutes. Sharjeel Inam Memon told reporters on May 18 that Shahrah-i-Bhutto would make travel easier for residents, significantly cut commuting time and reduce traffic congestion, according to Pakistan Today. (msn.com) ProPakistani separately reported that Memon said the road would reduce pressure on key routes across Karachi. ### Is this a new project or a later phase of an older one? (pppunitsindh.gov.pk) January 11, 2025 reporting by The News said Bilawal had already inaugurated Phase I of the Malir Expressway in Karachi, at the Qayyumabad interchange, after the Sindh government named the corridor Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Expressway. That earlier report described the road as a public-private partnership project and showed Bilawal driving on the newly opened section. (pakistantoday.com.pk) The current May 23 opening appears to refer to a broader public opening or completion milestone for the 39-kilometer corridor, based on the language used by Sindh ministers and party officials this week. That is an inference from the sequence of reports: the January 2025 event covered Phase I, while the May 2026 statements describe the 39-kilometer road opening to the public. (thenews.com.pk) ### What else is supposed to happen at the ceremony? Sharjeel Inam Memon said the same May 23 event would also include the groundbreaking for a proposed bridge linking Karachi Port to Qayyumabad, according to Pakistan Today and ProPakistani. Memon said that bridge would shorten travel time from hours to minutes once completed. Senator Waqar Mehdi said the next phase of Shahrah-e-Bhutto would connect directly with Karachi Port and add about 13 kilometers, taking the total project length to 52 kilometers when finished, according to The Nation. (thenews.com.pk) May 23 is the date officials have named for the inauguration, with Bilawal, Sharjeel Inam Memon, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and other local officials expected to be involved. (nation.com.pk) (pakistantoday.com.pk)