RAWALPINDI: A ten-member team of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) visited various points of Leh Nullah as part of feasibility study of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Circular Railway Project along with Leh Expressway Project.

The Chinese team comprising Wang Chaozhu (Managing Director CCECC), Quan Kaihua, Xu Tiemin, Li Xiang, Mir Atiq Ur Rehman ( Consultant Coordination & Marketing/Focal Person), Liu Kaizhou, Zhang Xiaowei, Tao Wenbin, Zheng Xiaohui and Chen Jinming.

Earlier, Rawalpindi Development Authority’s (RDA) Chief Engineer Aamir Rashid and the authority’s focal person for this project Sadoon Basra briefed the Chinese team about the project. They informed the team that a total length of Leh Nullah will be about 19 km.

Punjab government has already started process of demarcation of area alongside the Leh Nullah. The process of land acquiring will begin shortly.

The company signed MOU with RDA and CDA in May this year and feasibility study will be completed within a period of eight months. Leh Nullah Basin has a catchment area of 234.9 km. The catchment area of the nullah basin is administratively divided into Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) in the upper reaches of 144.4 km and Rawalpindi City of Punjab Province in the lower reaches of 90.5km.

Leh Nullah has a length of about 30km, stretching from the Margalla hills in Islamabad at the North-western edge until Soan River at the South-eastern edge in District Rawalpindi of Punjab. The Basin is located between 33º 33´ and 33º 46´ North and 72º 55´ and 73º 07´ East.

The project was under taken from I.J Principal Road at Katarian Bridge to Ammar Chowk for 11 km whereas the total length of Leh Nullah is about 19 km which ends in Soan River near High Court on G.T. Road.

So, it is quite evident that previous scope of the Leh Nullah Expressway Project would not address the current problems for the whole city completely and the desired result would not be achieved.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2020