RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has finally released Rs1.46 billion for two main projects in the garrison city — Kutchery Chowk remodeling and the Rawalpindi Ring Road.

However, funds for Leh Expressway and Flood Channel are still frozen.

The caretaker provincial government had earlier ordered to freeze funds earmarked for all development schemes.

“Punjab government released funds for two main projects in the garrison city and work on these projects will be started soon,” said Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Director General Saif Anwar Jappa while talking to Dawn.

Work on two mega projects in Rawalpindi will start after consultation with stakeholders, says RDA chief

He said the caretaker government had frozen all development funds but we informed the authorities that these two were ongoing projects for which the tendering process had also been completed.

The government accepted the request of the civic body and released the funds.

He said the RDA had already completed homework for execution of the projects which would be started after consultation with stakeholders.

“These two projects are not politically motivated and have been launched for public welfare to end traffic rush in the garrison city and Islamabad,” he said.

He said the RDA would also get permission from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to start the projects. A letter has been written to the commission and after getting the green signal from it the projects would be launched.

He said Ring Road was not only a road project, but economic zones would also be established along the artery.

He said applications had been sought from international firms to choose an optimal route for the road.

The RDA chief said an advertisement had been published in Khaleej Times and the process for the selection of a firm for the third-party validation of the Ring Road’s route would be completed by March end.

He said work on the Kutchery Chowk remodeling would be started soon as the contractor, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), had also been asked to submit a traffic plan.

He said land acquisition for the Kutchery Chowk remodeling would be started soon, adding land owned by Fatima Jinnah Women University, commissioner office and Police Lines would be acquired.

The government has been requested to provide the state land to the RDA for the project.

About the Leh Expressway and Flood Channel, the RDA director general said that the project was in the initial phase so the government did not release funds for it.

However, he said in the next fiscal year the project would be included in the annual development programme of the Punjab government.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2023