Work on Tourism Expressway to start soon

RDA chairman says first tranche of Rs1.5 billion has been released

RAWALPINDI:

The government is all set to start construction work of Tourism Expressway, which would provide an alternative route from Rawalpindi to Murree for tourists and to reach new tourist destinations that would pass through four tehsils of Rawalpindi district.

Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza said that 123 kilometers long existing 12 to 13 feet wide road would be reconstructed and widened further up to 24 feet under the Tourism Highway project. It’s a public sector development project and approved by the Prime Minister Imran Khan to promote tourism in the region and to be executed by Communication and Works Department, Punjab, he added.

The RDA chairman said that the federal government has released Rs1.5 billion for the construction of a new 123-kilometre-long tourism expressway from Rawat Pandori Chowk to the four hilly tehsils of Rawalpindi, Kahuta, Kotli Sattian, Kalar Syedan and Murree. The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs4.5 billion and the first tranche of Rs1.5 billion has been released, he said.

He said that construction work of the project would be started soon and the project would be completed in two years.

Read Rs1.5b released for 123km ‘tourism expressway’

Its surveys have been completed and they have also completed the study of the project. He said that the expressway would be 24 feet wide and will pass through the dense forest of Panjar. This would be an alternative road from Rawalpindi to Muzaffarabad and pass through Kotli Sattian, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan and Murree.

He said the area on both sides of the expressway will have commercial buildings, plazas, factories, markets, hospitals and educational institutions, while big parks will also be set up along the road.

Murtaza said that they also have chalked out a plan to plant 300,000 fruit, flower and shade trees on both sides of the expressway. He added that 20,000 to 30,000 local traditional fruit trees of the Pothohar and Kohsar region would be planted along the expressway.

“This road will also create employment opportunities,” he said, adding that the road would be connected to Kotli Sattian from Union Council Narh of Kahuta. This road would provide easy access and short time travel to historical Panj Pir rocks, which is a major tourist destination. He said that the plan was finalised to make Kotli Sattian a new tourist spot to reduce congestion in Murree.

The chairman said that through tourism, the living standards of the residents could also be uplifted and they could get opportunities to earn their livelihood in their native areas. Kotli Sattian would be developed as an alternative to Murree and the provincial government is chalking out a plan to improve the area and identify new tourism sites, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2021.