Pindi Ring Road project likely to hit a snag

Punjab govt decides to alter alignment of stalled road project

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi Ring Road project is likely to face another delay as authorities have decided to carry out the realignment of the already stalled road scheme.

Sources said that the Punjab Planning and Development (P&D) has decided to hire an international consultancy firm to carry out the readjustment of the road project which has been stalled for the last 15 years.

Earlier, the National Highway Authority had raised objections to the design of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project and traffic management.

The authorities concerned have started mulling over altering the design of the road by constructing a link road from Fateh Jhang to Sangjani, the sources said.

“It has been decided to hire an international firm to alter the alignment and design of the Rawalpindi Ring Road,” the sources said adding that the contractor will remain the same.

Earlier, the Rawalpindi Development Authority, as an executing agency, had awarded the contract of Rs22.8 billion to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) for the construction of the 38.3-kilometre-long Rawalpindi Ring Road from Rawat to Thalian.

Official sources said that a third-party valuation was necessary through international bidding. They said that work on the project will be started after the realignment of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project.

“The international consultant firm will submit recommendations regarding the modification of the design and change in the route and after that, a final decision will be taken by the competent authority to start work on the project,” said the officials.

Under the terms and conditions of the contract, the contractor is supposed to complete work on the project within two years.

The project hit a roadblock in 2021, when the Anti-Corruption Establishment, Punjab, arrested former Rawalpindi commissioner Muhammad Mehmood, ex-deputy project director Muhammad Abdullah and land acquisition collector Waseem Ali Tabish and 10 other officials on corruption charges and misuse of authority during the alignment of the road.

When the case came to light, the former PTI government set up a three-member committee to hold an inquiry and “found the officials guilty of corruption”. However, later, the Establishment Division said in an order that the 13 officials have been acquitted in the scandal.

According to the sources, now not only the economic corridor will become part of the project but also the length of the route may also be extended.

Earlier, the NHA had raised the objections that more than 33,000 heavy transport vehicles would enter M2 from Rawalpindi Ring Road daily, which will not only damage its infrastructure but also cause a traffic jam at the Islamabad motorway toll plaza.

A senior official of the project management unit earlier said that instead of linking the ring road with the motorway, the construction of a link road is under consideration.

The officer said that a proposal to construct a link road to connect the ring road with Fateh Jhang and Sangjani is under consideration. He said that the traffic coming from the ring road will be diverted to Sangjani, which will pass through the link road without using the motorway.

The official also said that without the link road, transporters using the ring road via motorway will have to pay toll tax at four places to cover 60 kilometres. Transporters will never accept the toll tax. He said that the construction of a link road would not only remove the objections of NNA but also the payment of toll tax would be limited to only two places. The official said that if the link road proposal was approved, the Punjab government would construct the link road within the limits of Rawalpindi while the link road of Islamabad would be built by the Capital Development Authority.

The proposed realignment of the Rawalpindi Ring Road is expected to further delay the start of work on the project. Last year, the government annulled the ring road project after the change in the alignment to benefit real estate players, landlords and influential.

Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries President Tariq Jadoon said that after the establishment of the economic zone along the ring road, all wholesale markets, factories and cottage industries from Rawalpindi will be shifted there, which will help in the reduction of traffic pressure on city roads.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2022.