Capital unveils Rs5b Expressway expansion

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will spend Rs5.072 billion on constructing a 9.25-kilometre, six-lane carriageway along the existing Service Road East from Faizabad to Koral Chowk (Gulberg Housing Society) in the federal capital.

According to official sources, the new road, to be built parallel to the Islamabad Expressway, is expected to reduce traffic congestion on one of the city's busiest corridors, improve connectivity for millions of residents in surrounding localities and enhance the market value of commercial properties along the Service Road East corridor, while encouraging greater business activity across the area.

Sources said around Rs500 million has been allocated for relocating utility infrastructure, including fibre-optic networks of the Islamabad Police Safe City Project, the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO).

The expansion will require the relocation of 11kV IESCO distribution lines, 242 electricity poles and 248 graves, while earthworks have already commenced.

The project also includes the protection and preservation of 22 underground water channels, natural streams and stormwater drains that fall within the alignment of the new highway.

According to sources, utility relocation costs include Rs6m for SPD infrastructure, Rs406m for IESCO works and Rs87.3m for relocating Safe City fibre-optic facilities. Work on these components has yet to begin.

A senior CDA official said the completion target had been revised from 12 months to between six and eight months, although the timely relocation of utilities remained the project's biggest challenge.

The official added that the new six-lane highway would significantly reduce traffic pressure on the Islamabad Expressway while improving access for nearby communities and boosting commercial activity throughout the corridor.