Ring Road completion pushed to 2026

The completion of Rawalpindi Ring Road Phase 1, a project with an estimated cost of Rs50 billion, which could not be finalised within the deadline set by the Punjab Chief Minister during the year 2025, has now been projected for March 2026.

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has also claimed that the feasibility study and PC-I for Ring Road Phase Two will be completed by March next year.

According to details, the feasibility study for Ring Road Phase Two, extending from Thalian Interchange on the M-2 Motorway to the GT Road (M-5), will incur an estimated cost of Rs52 million and is expected to be completed by March 2026. Following this, the project's PC-I will be prepared, for which the services of NESPAK have been engaged.

It is pertinent to note that the Rawalpindi Ring Road route begins at Banth Mor on the GT Road and terminates at the Thalian Interchange on the motorway after covering a distance of 38.6 kilometres. The project cost has escalated from Rs33b to Rs50b. During a site inspection, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz had directed that the project be completed at all costs by 30 December 2025.

However, according to RDA sources, approximately 75 per cent of the work has so far been completed. The land acquisition process is currently underway to convert Thalian Interchange into a broad-based interchange, enabling its utilisation for future expansions.

While the completion of Phase One by March 2026 is being projected, RDA sources caution that it cannot be stated with certainty whether the project, including the Thalian broad-based interchange, will be fully completed by that time.