GUJRAT: An ‘inordinate’ delay in the completion of Servis Mor flyover connecting the old GT road with Gujrat bypass, has become a nuisance for the people of the city as more than three years passed when the work on the project was started.

A sum of almost Rs590 million is still required to complete the project while its cost had already doubled due to the delay as well as change in design around an year ago.

The project was launched by the then Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in August 2022 but it was halted in February 2023 following the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly as the caretaker government had frozen the funds.

However in November 2024, the incumbent Punjab government of CM Maryam Nawaz had changed the design of the flyover by adding a loop towards Islamabad side as the previous design was only connecting the old GT road with the new industrial area road near the bypass.

The initial estimate of the project was Rs1.2 billion but due to the delay and changes in design the cost climbed up to Rs2.46bn.

The civil work on the flyover was resumed after the lapse of almost 22 months in January 2025 but it’s pace has been very slow that even after 11 months, the completion is still being awaited by the locals.

A senior official of Punjab communication and works (C&W) department said that the only reason for the delay was now the issuance of funding as Rs590m were still required due to which the contractor firm did not accelerate its progress on the project.

He said at least three more major flyover projects in Gujrat district had been facing such a delay as in Sara-i-Alamgir city’s Rajar railway crossing, a flyover was started almost six years ago. Similarly the flyovers at Kathala Chenab and Gujrat-Sagodha road near Saroki village were too launched in 2019 but the completion was nowhere in the sight due to the non-availability of funds.

Gujrat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GtCCI) President Ahmed Hassan Mattu said out of all the incomplete flyovers, the Servis Mor flyover had been of great economic importance for the local business fraternity due to its location.

He said the motorists had to wait in long queues at Saen Raja railway crossing to proceed towards the bypass as well as Lahore and Islamabad whereas a number of local industrial units and the GtCCI building too were located along the bypass.

He said the flyover project had actually been launched on the demand of the business community that had been suffering a lot due to the delay.

He urged the Punjab CM to take notice of the delay and issue direction for the release of required funds to the project.

An official source said Gujrat Deputy Commissioner Nurulain Qureshi had also sent a ‘fresh reminder’ to the Punjab government for the release of funds as the contractor firm assured her during a visit to the site that in case of release of funds in the current month, the project would be completed by the month of February 2026.

The source said in Gujranwala city a flyover at Chan Da Qila Chowk was launched around six months ago and now it was almost completed where vehicles were now plying after the soft opening as Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz is likely to inaugurate the flyover shortly.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2025