RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has revised its plan for the expansion of Murree Road from Liaquat Bagh to Chandni Chowk, increasing the proposed width from 15 feet to 20 feet on both sides and raising the estimated cost from Rs8 billion to Rs17 billion.

A senior RDA official told Dawn that the authority planned to expand Murree Road from Liaquat Bagh to Chandni Chowk and add service lanes on both sides to improve traffic flow and ease congestion along this stretch.

He said the proposal had been sent to the Punjab government last month for final approval and inclusion in the annual development programme (ADP). However, on the recommendation of the district administration, the plan was revised and forwarded again to Lahore for approval.

“In the new plan, service roads will be constructed along a three-kilometre stretch of Murree Road from Liaquat Bagh to Chandni Chowk. The road will be expanded to 20 feet, requiring 48 kanals of land, while Rs17.7 billion will be spent on land acquisition alone,” he said.

The official said the project had been prepared and that, after the addition of service lanes, the main artery would become signal-free from Marrir Chowk to Faizabad. He added that the detailed design would be finalised after the release of funds by the provincial government.

A survey to acquire land on both sides of Murree Road is underway, and practical work will begin once the Punjab government gives the green signal. Under the scheme, a major portion of the funds will be used for land acquisition. The widened stretch, he said, would improve the area’s appearance and facilitate local motorists.

He said service lanes already existed from Chandni Chowk to Faizabad, and the addition of new service roads would further increase Murree Road’s traffic capacity. He added that two more changes had been made in the annual development programme.

The senior official said that, under the ADP, two parking plazas had been proposed on the recommendations of PML-N local lawmakers, including one at Benazir Bhutto Hospital and another at Commercial Market.

“The existing parking area at the hospital will be used to construct a parking plaza. At present, the ground is used for visitors’ parking, but the RDA plans a ground floor and a three-storey building for parking,” he said.

He said the proposed cost was Rs1.4 billion, with five kanals of land to be used. The facility would accommodate 480 vehicles at a time, with each floor having space for 120 vehicles.

At Commercial Market, he said, a five-storey parking plaza was planned, with an estimated cost of Rs2.6 billion and capacity for 700 vehicles.

He said a total of eight kanals of land would be used for the plaza, which would also include 100 shops, making it a commercial-cum-parking facility.

However, he said the site would be the area adjacent to a public park that was formerly an amusement park. The land belongs to the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation, and if the project is approved, the RDA would obtain a no-objection certificate from the corporation.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2026