ISLAMABAD: City managers have decided to restart the stalled 10th Avenue project and proceed with the construction of 11th Avenue to avert an expected traffic mess after the completion of a new road linking Margalla Road with Motorway M-1.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is currently in the tendering process to award the contract for the new road connecting Margalla Road with M-1, which will ultimately link up with the Rawalpindi Ring Road.

Officials said it is anticipated that, after the completion of the said road, Islamabad’s Margalla Road will face a massive traffic load. To avoid congestion, two major arteries, 10th and 11th avenues, will be constructed.

Presiding over a meeting, CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa said that planning for improved traffic management on relevant highways was necessary, as the Ring Road would become functional and Margalla Avenue would be connected with the motorway.

“The meeting discussed the construction of the 11th Avenue. Similarly, the meeting also discussed completing the construction work on the 10th Avenue. The meeting was informed that the construction of both roads will facilitate traffic entering the city from Margalla Avenue, Srinagar Highway and other adjacent highways,” read a press release issued by the CDA.

Quoting the CDA chairman, the press release said that connecting all major highways of Islamabad under the master plan would improve traffic flow. He said planning should be undertaken to construct missing links connecting all major highways, adding that timely Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for all future projects must be ensured.

“The meeting reviewed the progress on the Islamabad Convention, Exhibition and Expo Centre project. Furthermore, the meeting discussed the plan to resolve traffic issues at Kashmir Chowk. Additionally, the meeting reviewed matters related to the construction of a luxury hotel in the federal capital,” it added.

It is relevant to note that the multibillion-rupee 10th Avenue project has been almost completely halted after the federal government dropped it in the last fiscal year.

Earthwork on the project has largely been completed from IJP Road to H-9, and with minimal effort by the government and the CDA, this portion could be completed after asphalt work.

Two bridges constructed under the project are already being used by motorists, while other incomplete infrastructure, such as pillars, is deteriorating.

“Almost 50 per cent of the project has been completed, and the CDA management has now decided to complete it,” said a CDA official.

The project, worth Rs10.2 billion, was launched by the CDA with federal government funding in 2022 and was scheduled for completion by March 2024. However, before the project was dropped, the federal government released only Rs4 billion.

Under the project, a five-kilometre road is to be built from Katarian Bridge on Karnal Sher Khan Road (formerly IJP Road) to Srinagar Highway near the intersection of G-9 and G-10 sectors.

Regarding the 11th Avenue project, sources said the CDA management had decided to initiate the proposed scheme. A two-kilometre portion of the avenue, also known as Iran Avenue, from D-12 to E-11 has already been completed, while the remaining stretch from E-11 to IJP Road will be constructed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during his first stint, had laid the foundation stone of the 11th Avenue project, but construction could not be initiated at the time.

“We are in the final stage of starting both the 10th and 11th Avenue projects,” said a CDA officer.

Under the master plan, a major road follows every sector, such as 7th Avenue between G-6 and G-7, 8th Avenue (also known as Faisal Avenue) between G-7 and G-8, and 9th Avenue between G-8 and G-9. After 9th Avenue, the CDA failed to complete new avenues, but it is now set to construct the 10th and 11th avenues.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026