Outgoing year proved dim for uplift projects
PHOTO: REUTERS/File
As the outgoing year enters its last week, despite repeated promises by the federal and the provincial governments, the long-delayed most significant nine projects pertaining to water supply, road infrastructure and health services for the Rawalpindi District have been deferred to the upcoming year.
For the past 17 years, these ill-fated projects have been locked away in files after being approved following briefings in different meetings in every government.
In addition to the Rawalpindi Ring Road project, which could not be started despite the award of the contract, the Ghazi Barotha Water Supply project for the supply of 200 million gallons of water per day to Rawalpindi, Islamabad, the Leh Expressway project for alternative traffic routes in the twin cities and safe transfer of open sewage outside the city, Kachehri Chowk, Defence Chowk underpasses and flyover signals-free project, Liaquat Bagh, Murrir Chowk underpasses, and 9th Avenue flyover project to connect the double road to Islamabad could not make any progress.
Similarly, the ongoing projects of Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUT) and Mother & Child Hospital have also been deferred to 2023 as the future of the pending projects is yet to be determined.
The construction of the 38.8km route of the long-delayed Rawalpindi Ring Road project, whose foundation stone was laid by the previous government and the Rs22.8 billion contract awarded to the Frontier Words Organisation, could not be started.
The work on this project, which has been delayed for 17 years, has not started since the foundation stone was laid during the Musharraf regime and the grant of approval by the previous government, increasing its cost to Rs80 billion.
The Rs5 billion contract for the Kachehri Chowk flyover, underpasses and expansion project could not be awarded despite all the preparations for the award of the contract.
Similarly, the Defence Chowk flyover and underpasses signal-free project, Liaquat Bagh and Murrir Chowk underpasses signal-free projects, and the flyover project at 9th Avenue Chowk on IGP Road connecting the Double Road to Islamabad are also locked up in files and now deferred to the next year.
The long-term Ghazi Barotha Water Supply Project to provide clean drinking water to the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad has not made any progress despite the project being considered in dozens of meetings as indispensable regarding the need for water in the future.
The cost of this project has now reached Rs90 billion of which Rs45 billion is to be paid by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Rs22.5 by the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Rs22.5 billion by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA).
This project is to provide 200 million gallons of water per day, of which 100 million gallons will be provided to the CDA for the federal capital; 50 million gallons per day to the WASA, and 50 million gallons per day to the RCB.
This will not only solve the problem of shortage of water for the twin cities for the next 100 years, but in the second phase, with the availability of another 200 million gallons of water per day, it will be possible to supply this water outside the city and cantonment within the limits of the Rawalpindi district.
Project Concept-1 of the project has been sent to the Central Development Working Party for approval.
Similarly, the project of Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant, whose foundation stone was laid in 2012, to end renal treatment problems for the citizens, is still limited to the emergency and the OPD and the hospital could not be made fully functional.
Meanwhile, the Mother & Child Hospital on Asghar Mall Road, the cost of which has increased from Rs2.25 billion to Rs9 billion, despite the completion of 90% of the civil work, could not be made functional the decision of the day it will be made functional will now be made in the next year.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2022.