RAWALPINDI: Although Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had fixed the end of December as the deadline for the completion of the Rawalpindi Ring Road, the work remains unfinished and will take at least three more months.

A senior official of the divisional administration told Dawn that 75 per cent of work on the multi-billion-rupee project has been completed so far, but it will likely be finished by March 2026.

“There are three reasons for the delay, including slow transportation of stone to the site. The provincial government has stopped the overloading of vehicles on the Grand Trunk Road, due to which the transportation of stone has slowed down. Earlier, we received 8,000 cubic feet of stone per loader, but now we get 4,000 cubic feet,” he said.

Explaining further, he said the stone was required for the construction of waterways, stone pitching of retaining walls, and for the gravel used in road construction.

Regarding the second reason, he said that the Thalian Interchange at the motorway and the construction of toll plazas were added to the project later, which will require additional time.

He said the revised PC-I of the project was still pending with the Housing and Urban Development Department. After its approval, it would be forwarded to the Planning and Development Department for final approval, after which more funds will be provided.

He said the project management unit, in consultation with Nespak, had prepared the revised PC-I to increase the total project cost from Rs33 billion to Rs45 billion.

He added that the PC-I would be sent to the Punjab government through the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) for final approval for the price escalation.

He said there were three main reasons for the increase in the project’s total cost.

When contacted, Deputy Project Director of the Rawalpindi Ring Road, Ashfaq Sulheri, told Dawn that the project would likely be completed by March next year and not by the end of December.

He said asphalt work on nine kilometres of the road had been completed so far and the remaining work would be finished soon. He said that after learning lessons from earlier road construction projects in Islamabad, the department was ensuring proper work for better road quality.

He said the revised PC-I had been prepared in consultation with Nespak and had been sent to Lahore through the Rawalpindi Development Authority. He said there was a dire need to revise the PC-I due to certain changes in the project.

He said that earlier, the interchange to connect the Ring Road with the motorway had not been included, and the construction of toll plazas was also a new addition.

“To avoid flood-like situations, we are constructing waterways along the road and interchanges, and this requires additional time,” he said.

He said the Soan Bridge had been completed, while work on the railway bridge was ongoing and girder casting had begun. He added that asphalt work on the road had started and more than one kilometre had been completed so far.

The total length of the Rawalpindi Ring Road is 38.3 km. It will have five interchanges, including Baanth, Chak Baili Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road and Thalian.

An industrial zone will be established around the Ring Road. The road will operate at a design speed of 120 km/h with five interchanges and a six-lane controlled-access corridor.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2025