Chubacha underpass may be delayed by two months

Project hit the snags after delayed issuance of NOC by Pakistan Railways

LAHORE: The Chubacha Underpass on Canal Road is likely to be delayed by at least two months because of procedural hurdles and red tape.

Construction activity on the road infrastructure project began on December 25 last year and the underpass was expected to complete in four months – by April-end.

But the project hit the snags after delayed issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) by Pakistan Railways (PR) and disagreements between the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak), and the railways over its proposed design.

The railways department has now issued the NOC and an agreement has also been reached between the two authorities, said project contractor Habib Construction Services (HCS) CEO Shahid Saleem while talking with The Express Tribune.

Construction activity on the project is under way in areas where the PR has raised no objections. The company has also started building Canal Road on Jallo-bound section to ease traffic problems.

Saleem said his company had been asked to increase the height of the underpass at the Shalimar Interchange as heavy vehicles, like buses and trucks, could not pass through in the current design.

He said the HCS would build the civil structure of the underpass and hand it over to the railways for installation of rails.

The new underpass will be of three lanes on both sides of the canal for which the government has already acquired land. The underpass starts from the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club and comes out near the Shalimar Interchange after crossing two railway junctions.

City planners believe the construction of Chubacha Underpass will dramatically improve traffic flow on Canal Road and reduce commuters’ miseries during peak hours.

The underpass was originally conceived in 2011 but the government provided funding just last year. During this period, the project cost has escalated by around 53%.

The Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) estimates the project would now cost Rs2.6 billion. Once completed it would become the longest underpass in Lahore.

Back in July 2011, then Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency director Israr Saeed had said the authority was planning to begin construction in the same month as the Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was keen on starting the project at the earliest.

Israr, who is now a chief engineer at LDA, disclosed that Nespak had already completed the project feasibility. The project cost was originally estimated at Rs1.7 billion of which Rs400 million was earmarked for land acquisition.

Israr added the authority had to acquire around 40 kanal of land for the underpass from the Pakistan Railways, Punjab Irrigation Department, Water and Power Development Authority as well as some residents near a shrine next to one of the railway crossings.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2017.