RAWALPINDI: After the provincial government handed over the Kutchery Chowk project to the Punjab Communication and Works Department, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has been left with only two mega projects - the Rawalpindi Ring Road and the metro track renovation.

The RDA, which is the apex development body of the district, will not get any new uplift project till the next fiscal year when the approval of funds for a trunk sewer in Leh Nullah is expected.

According to a senior official, the RDA was working on a signal-free corridor from Kutchery Chowk to Pirwadhai Mor but the project was surrendered to the Communication and Works Department. One of the two projects in the hands of the RDA is the repair work on the metro track from Saddar in Rawalpindi to Pak Secretariat in Islamabad.

A senior official told Dawn that the Punjab Masstransit Authority (PMA) assigned RDA the repair work worth Rs1.3 billion. Besides, the civic agency is also working on the Rawalpindi Ring Road project worth Rs41 billion.

RDA working on Ring Road, metro track repair projects; more projects to start next year

Earlier, the PMA asked the RDA to repair the metro track from Saddar to Faizabad in Rawalpindi and provided Rs741 million for this task. Last week, it however asked the civic body to do repair work from Faizabad to the Secretariat as well after the Capital Development Authority refused to do the repair work.

According to the official, the PMA collects the revenue from the bus service and also provides a subsidy so it was responsible for the repair work.

“A total of Rs1.3 billion will be spent on the track repair from Saddar to Pakistan Secretariat…Rs750 million will be spent on elevated road repair and remaining money will be spent at-grade track in Islamabad,” he said.

The renovation of bus stations and elevators is in addition to this track repair, said the official, adding that the RDA would be funded by the Punjab government to do this project.

As far as the Rawalpindi Ring Road project is concerned, the RDA official said that the revised PC-1 worth Rs41 billion had been sent to the planning department of the Punjab government and funds were expected to be released by the end of this month.

He claimed the planning development had made some observations about the PC-I which were later addressed by the RDA and the document was sent back to the planning department for approval. The Rawalpindi Ring Road project commenced in September 2023 and is scheduled for completion in December as per the deadline set by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

He said that the 38.3 km-long road’s route has been cleared, and the relocation of utility services is in progress. He said that 24pc of the project has been completed, with plans for five interchanges, 11 underpasses, 2 river bridges, one railway bridge and a rest area along the route.

A senior official of RDA said that RDA was also working on the Leh Nullah Expressway and the flood channel. In light of this, it also formulated a plan to lay a trunk sewer in the nullah to avoid flooding and for wastewater treatment. “But, this project will be approved in the annual development programme in the next fiscal year,” he said. When contacted, RDA spokesman Hafiz Irfan said that the RDA was working on two main projects and added that the work on new projects would be started in the next fiscal year.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2024