RAWALPINDI: Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday made his third visit to the Rawalpindi’s Ring Road Project site in 25 days to assess the pace of work on the landmark project of the garrison city.

The chief minister had an aerial view of the entire 38-kilometre route, inspected the Khasala Khurd Adiala Interchange site and assessed the progress of earthwork.

A senior official of Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) Colonel Ayaz gave a comprehensive briefing to the chief minister, highlighting that heavy machinery for the construction of the ring road had arrived and the project was advancing at a rapid pace.

The chief minister was informed that the construction of subways, drainage channels and roads had commenced and the allotted land for the project had been handed over to the contractor. He was told that Nespak had also supplied the necessary drawings related to the project.

Punjab’s chief secretary calls for timely completion of ongoing schemes

Mr Naqvi issued pertinent instructions to Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Chatha and the FWO officials, emphasising the need for swift completion of the project. He underscored that the expedited completion of the ring road would significantly enhance convenience for the citizens of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

During the briefing, it was informed that the ring road would span over 38.3-km with six lanes. Construction has commenced on the Banth and Chak Baily interchanges of the road. The 38.3-km-lomg ring road will have five interchanges at Baanth, Chak Beli Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road and Thalian. An industrial zone will also be established around the road. The total cost of the project is Rs 31.7 billion, including Rs6.7 billion for land acquisition.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman presided over a meeting in the Commissioner’s Office to review the progress of the work on the ongoing development schemes in the city and directed the concerned departments and officials that there should not be further delays in the completion of the projects, including Rawalpindi Ring Road and Daducha Dam.

The chief secretary was informed that the work on Daducha Dam, the second mega project in the garrison city, would begin in the next couple of days.

The commissioner informed the participants of the meeting that the right of way of Rawalpindi Ring Road had been completely cleared and now the entire area from GT Road to the Motorway was clear. Similarly, he said the right of way and all other possible hindrances had almost been cleared for starting the Daducha Dam Project. He said the construction of dams was the need of the hour, declaring that “our future survival depends on the supply of the required quantity of water.”

Daducha Dam will be located at a distance of 25 kilometres from Rawalpindi. For the construction of this dam, a total of 16,194 kanals and 14 marlas had been acquired in Rawalpindi and Kallar Syedan. The dam would be 123 feet high and 737 feet long and have a catchment area of 129 square miles. After its construction, the dam will provide 35 million gallons daily (MGD) water to the residents of the garrison city.

The chief secretary said both Rawalpindi Ring Road and Daducha Dam projects were very important for the people of Rawalpindi. He said these projects had already suffered unnecessary delays, so further delays would not be tolerated.

“Efforts should be made to complete these projects ahead of schedule, but there should be no compromise on the quality of work,” he said. He directed that the commissioner to directly supervise these two public welfare projects and stay in the field as much as possible to ensure quality, transparency and speed of work.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2023