Plans for parking plazas in bureaucratic limbo

PC-I of Rs3 billion project at Fawara Chowk awaits Punjab's approval

RAWALPINDI:

Construction of three new parking plazas in Rawalpindi city and the addition of two more floors to the incomplete parking plaza at Fawara Chowk have been reduced to mere paperwork and official briefings.

The PC-I for the Fawara Chowk plaza, estimated to cost over Rs3 billion, remains pending with the Punjab government.

According to sources, growing parking and traffic pressure on roads linked with commercial centres in the inner city has made new parking facilities inevitable.

The Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi submitted a proposal to build a five-storey parking plaza on its former office land along Saddar Road, covering 14 kanals and 10 marlas.

The project would accommodate over 1,600 cars and 2,000 motorcycles at a time, but it awaits official approval.

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi Development Authority's parking plaza at Fawara Chowk—currently consisting of a basement, ground, and first floor—also faces delays in the construction of its additional two floors.

Plans for large parking plazas at Banni Market near Banni Chowk and another in Commercial Market have also seen no progress due to a lack of funds from the Municipal Corporation.

In the cantonment areas, there is no parking plaza at all. With business centres and buildings connected to main roads, parking has become a major issue across the city and cantonment.

The RDA has been reluctant to resume work on its incomplete Fawara Chowk project, while both the Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Boards and the Municipal Corporation have failed to initiate construction of their proposed parking plazas, worsening the city's parking crisis.