RAWALPINDI: Work on Ring Road project may start next fiscal year as the Punjab government has given a go-ahead to the executing agency to acquire land for the road.

The Ring Road Project was first initiated during the second tenure of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1998 but the work could not start even in his third tenure in the government.

Punjab government has released Rs6.7 billion for acquisition of land for the project, which requires7,733 kanals 14 marlas in 27 villages.

The road has a proposed length of 66 kilometres, which originates from N-5 near Radio Pakistan in Rawat, passes through the M-1 and M-2 and terminates at Sangjani by crossing the N-5 to connect with Islamabad.

A senior official of local administration told Dawn that the provincial government had issued Land Acquisition Award for Ring Road phase-I and it had already released Rs6.5 billion in this regard.

He said the process of land acquisition would take three to four months while after this, the project proposal will be sent to Public-Private Partnership Authority which will approve the project under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

He said the investors would be called formally for the project and the work would likely start in July or after monsoon season.

He said the executing agency would be Lahore Ring Road Authority as the provincial government got the project back from Rawalpindi Development Authority as it had no such experience of mega project.

Regarding the Ring Road project, Project Director Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mahmood said that most of the track of the Ring Road project is dry and barren land therefore, there is no impediment to land acquisition and the provincial and federal governments are keen to start and complete work on the project as soon as possible.

“The Ring Road project is not just a road to solve the traffic problem, but it will also increase economic activities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad which will make the project a game changer for the Rawalpindi city,” he said.

He said the Ring Road would directly connect three cities of Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Attock while the residents of Chakwal and Jhelum would also benefit from it.

“The construction period of the project is two years,” he said.

He said the feasibility report of the project has been prepared, NOCs have been obtained from many other agencies including the environment department, land has been demarcated.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2021