PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday announced the issuance of tenders for the construction of the 8.7 kilometres long northern portion of the Peshawar Ring Road next month following the project’s approval by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in the day.

“Another piece of good news for Peshawar, with massive positive impact on traffic. The Peshawar Ring Road Missing Link from Warsak Road to Nasirbagh Road approved from the Ecnec at revised cost of Rs16.6 billion. Peshawar Development Authority will now be able to tender the project within the next month,” provincial finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra noted on Twitter.

Mr Jhagra said he told the Ecnec that there was no need for the provincially-funded projects to go to a national forum for approval.

Under the plans, the 8.7km dual carriageway will have six lanes as well as service roads, while a flyover will be built at the Warsak Road intersection and another at the Regi-Palosi Road. Also, two bridges will be put up over canals and three over nullahs, while the construction of three underpasses to manage traffic in the area will also be carried out.

According to official documents, the project will provide a bypass to the Afghan transit trade and to the users of road in the city, Jamrud Road, Regi Model Town, Askari-VI and DHA. It will also provide an alternate route to the city traffic and evenly distribute the city’s traffic and reduce road congestion in the city.

The documents showed that the project promised economic development, reduction of the wear and tear of intercity roads and vehicles, and reduction of environmental pollution.

According to them, the road project’s Rs14.89 billion PC-I was cleared by the Provincial Development Working Party on Nov 19, 2021, while the Central Development Working Party okayed it on March 25 for the Ecnec’s consent.

The KP government had requested the Cabinet Division on May 13 for the ‘anticipatory’ approval of the project. It said the Cabinet Division informed it on May 17 that the Ecnec was being reconstituted, so the planning and development ministry should be approached to place the matter before the Ecnec.

The documents showed that the Ring Road project was identified in the year 1986-87, while its total length was 43 kilometres with 43.5 metres for the right of way. The southern section of Peshawar Ring Road measuring 23.70km from Hayatabad to Charsadda Road was constructed with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank and has been used by the people since 1997.

The 5.4km section from Charsadda road to Warsak Road was constructed with the provincial government’s funding and has been in the people’s use since 2018.

The documents revealed that for the construction of the 8.7km northern section of Ring Road (missing link) from the Warsak Road to Nasir Bagh Road, the provincial government had already provided Rs2.8 billion funds for land acquisition, while Rs14.7 billion was required for construction.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2022