RAWALPINDI: The revised PC-I of Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project worth Rs40 billion has been sent to the Punjab Planning and Development Department for approval.

Talking to Dawn, Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha said the project cost had been revised due to three main reasons.

“We added resting areas to the 38.3-kilometre-long road and will construct a double interchange at Thalian near the motorway.” He said the double interchange would enable motorists to have access to the Ring Road from four sides and there would be no rush in the entry and exist points. He said the resting areas will be constructed on the pattern of the motorways.

Mr Chatha said the project was approved in 2022 and in the last two years the cost of construction material increased manifold so it was necessary to revise the PC-I.

Cost revised due to addition of resting areas and an interchange at Thalian, says commissioner

On the other hand, the caretaker government has asked Nespak to make a detailed plan to merge RingRoadwith the Islamabad-Lahore Motorwayat Thalian Interchange.

He said the consultant would also come up with a plan and assessment for the next 10 years if RingRoadwas merged with the motorway.

He said the plan would be submitted by the consultant within a week so it could be forwarded to the National Highway Authority (NHA) for vetting.

It may be mentioned here that the NHA has already expressed reservations that traffic coming fromRingRoadwould create a mess onthe motorway.

“Earlier, the cost of the project was Rs31.3 billion and now it is estimated at Rs40 billion,” he said.

The total length of the RingRoadis 38.3km. It will have five interchanges at Baanth, Chak Baili Khan, AdialaRoad, ChakriRoadand Thalian. An industrial zone will be established around the RingRoad.

Theroadwill be operated at a design speed of 120km/h with five interchanges and six-lane controlled access.

During the PTI tenure, two routes were planned and later work was started on the main carriageway from Baanth on Grand TrunkRoadto Thallian on the motorway. In March 2022, the then prime minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation of the road at Thallian. The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) had won the contract of the project.

Later, the PDM government temporarily halted theprojectand gave the go-ahead after its third-party validation on the direction of then prime minister Shehbaz Sharif by validating the optimal route.

A joint venture of Turkish and Pakistani firms was tasked with selecting the route from Baanth to Thallian for the third-party validation.

After getting report, on August 8, 2023, the then prime minister also laid the foundation of the road at Rawat a day before his 16-month tenure ended.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2024