LAHORE, Aug 3: The Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency will build a 16-kilometre southern bypass for linking the motorway and the Ferozepur Road at a cost of Rs1.78 billion.

The proposed bypass will start from the motorway interchange near the army ammunition depot in the vicinity of Niazbeg village on the Multan Road and will be linked to the College Road by construction of a flyover on the canal.

It will pass through a number of housing schemes and the army land near Keer Kalan and Chandrai villages and reach the Racecourse Club in Kot Lakhpat. Another flyover will be built on the railway line to link it to the Ferozepur Road.

A 10-kilometre single lane stretch of the proposed 200-foot dual carriageway bypass already exists between the canal and the College Road and the remaining is to be built by Tepa. Part of the land for it has already been acquired by the agency.

Land for construction of its portions from motorway to the Multan Road (2.54 kilometres), College Road to Army Land (1.61 kilometres), Army Land to railway track (1.61 kilometres) and railway track to Ferozepur Road (1.85 kilometres) is yet to be acquired.

Tepa proposes to complete the project under a phased programme in two years. The project is likely to be started with the construction of a second carriageway along the single carriageway already existing between the canal and the College Road.

A bypass stretch between motorway and canal will measure three kilometres, Lahore Canal and College Road six kilometres, College Road and railway line 3.25 kilometres and railway line to Ferozepur Road 3.75 kilometres.

The bypass will pass through Johar Town, Nespak Colony, Wapda Town, Punjab Cooperative Employees Housing Society, PCSIR Employees Housing Society, and Irrigation Employees Housing Society colonies. The societies have given their consent for providing land for the construction of the bypass.

Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi gave approval of the project while laying the foundation stone of the Lahore Expo Centre near its existing portion at Johar Town here last month.