RDA woos investors for ring road project

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Thursday invited the business community of Islamabad to invest in the Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project.

In a presentation at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), the RDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza said that the R3 project will be developed on public-private partnership (PPP).

Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to perform the ground-breaking of Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project soon, said Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza.

An amount of Rs6.2 billion has been released for land acquisition of this project of vital importance, Murtaza said.

He said that 65.5km-long six lanes R3 would change the lifestyles of the people of Rawalpindi and set new horizons of development in the twin cities.

According to the RDA chairman R3 will not only reduce the traffic congestion in the twin cities, it will also provide a clean, healthy and safe environment besides making significant contributions to national development. He said that business hubs, industrial zones, transport terminals, wholesale markets, logistic and education hubs, health city, dry port, recreational parks and residential estates would be constructed on both sides of the R3 that would uplift the economy of the region and provide plenty of jobs.

Murtaza expressed these views while addressing the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said a press release issued on Thursday.

He said that the cost of the R3 project was estimated at Rs50 billion and after the financial closure, its construction would be completed within three years.

RDA Deputy Project Director Muhammad Abdullah gave a detailed presentation on R3 to the business community.

ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that multiple specialty zones could be built on both sides of R3 project and stressed that the sitting president of ICCI should be included in the RDA Board to get the input of private sector and address its genuine concerns for the smooth execution of R3 project on PPP mode.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2020.