RAWALPINDI: The revised PC-I of Rawalpindi Ring Road is likely to get the nod of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) soon.

A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that the provincial planning and development department had approved the revised PC-I, escalating the cost of the project from Rs31.3 billion to Rs38.3 billion.

“The revised PC-I has now been referred to CDWP and if it also clears, the PC-I will get approval from Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec),” he said.

The provincial government had released Rs6 billion in June for the project. Work on the project continues, but it may be delayed if the revised PC-I was not approved.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has fixed end of December as deadline for project completion

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has fixed December-end as the deadline for the project. So far, 35 per cent work has been completed while the remaining will be ready in the next six months.

He said the contractor was working on the railway bridge over Soan River which was complicated but its engineers were helping in its completion. The official said after the completion of the work, the government planned to carry out work on Ring Road Phase-II from the motorway to Sangjani.

The project was approved in 2022 but in the last two years the cost of construction material increased manifold necessitating the revision of the PC-I.

The total length of the Ring Road is 38.3 km. It will have five interchanges at Baanth, Chak Baili Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road and Thalian. An industrial zone will be established around the road.

The road will operate at a design speed of 120km/h with five interchanges and six lane controlled access.

During the PTI government, two routes were planned for the project and later work was started on the carriageway from Baanth on Grand Trunk Road to Thalian on the motorway. Then Prime Minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone of the road at Thalian in March 2022. The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was awarded the contract of the project.

The PDM government temporarily halted the work and gave the go-ahead after a third-party validation.

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

After getting the report, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of the road at Rawat a day before the end of the PDM government.

When contacted, RDA spokesman Mohammad Irfan said that the RDA was working on the project and would complete it on time. He said that the revised PC-I will get approval from the CDWP.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024