SAHIWAL: The construction of phase 2 of the Sahiwal bypass has been halted for six months owing to the non-issuance of a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Pakistan Railway (PR) and the National Highway Authority (NHA).

This was revealed in a meeting called to review the ongoing 167 development projects worth Rs52.7 billion across the three districts of Sahiwal division under the Annual Development Programme (ADP).

The reason for the requirement of an NOC is that the proposed bypass, part of the ring road, has to be connected with the Lahore-Khanewal section of the National Highway, N-5, through a flyover crossing over the Lahore-Khanewal double railway track and the adjacent Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC).

Fateh Muhammad Wattoo, the executive engineer of the highways department, told Dawn the irrigation department had issued the NOC for the flyover over the LBDC, but the NHA and PR had yet to issue the certificate.

The 13.7-kilometre bypass from Royal Hotel to Sarwar Chowk via Mai Wali Maseet worth Rs1.5bn had been approved under the 2017 ADP by the then PML-N-led Punjab government, and was to be completed in two phases.

In the first phase, a 24-foot-wide 9.77km road was to be built from Sarwar Chowk to Kacha Paki Road, and in the second, a 3.93km road was to be built for connecting with N-5 through a flyover.

A ring road across Sahiwal city has been a long-standing demand of the locals. It will divert light and heavy traffic from Multan, Lahore, and Vehari to Faisalabad without having to enter the main city.

Dr Saifullah, the development director, said phase I of the project had been completed last year, but phase II could not be started because neither the PR nor the NHA had issued the NOC for the flyover.

Sources said so far Rs603 million had been spent and 77 per cent of the work completed, but non-issuance of the NOC was the major hurdle in completing the work.

Dawn learnt from sources that Commissioner Javed Mahmood had directed the relevant authorities to proactively follow up the NOC issue with federal departments.

Moreover, in the high-level meeting, the participants were also told that 45 acres adjacent to Okara University had been earmarked for the construction of a medical college but the Board of Revenue had yet to transfer the land to the health department.

The commissioner directed the Okara deputy commissioner to pursue the land transfer case personally. Those who attended the meeting included the deputy commissioner of three districts of the division, and officials from the highways, buildings, and public health engineering departments.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2022