Ring Road misses sixth completion deadline

Construction of 38.3km route completed; toll booths, system still under construction

RAWALPINDI:

The sixth deadline for completion of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project and the final expected date for its inauguration, August 14, also passed without the project being inaugurated.

Construction work on the route has been completed, while the toll booths and tolling system are still under construction. Once completed, the Ring Road will be transferred to the Punjab Ring Road Authority.

The controversial service area established on the Ring Road has also been removed. The total cost of the Ring Road has reached Rs47 billion, with the cost per kilometre standing at Rs1.22 billion.

According to details, the 38.3-kilometre Rawalpindi Ring Road route, which has faced the longest delay in completion, stretches from GT Road Banth Mor to Thallian Interchange.

Construction of the route has been completed along with four of its five interchanges - Banth, Chakbeli Khan, Adiala and Chakri. Work on the fifth and final interchange, Thallian, remains incomplete after it was given the status of a broad-based interchange. However, the Ring Road has already been connected to the motorway without completion of the interchange.

The sixth deadline for completion and subsequent inauguration of the Ring Road, August 14, also passed without the project being inaugurated.

The reason that has emerged for the delay is that the toll booths and tolling system on the Ring Road have not yet been completed. Once these are completed, the Rawalpindi Ring Road will be transferred from the Project Management Unit to the Punjab Ring Road Authority and made functional.

Meanwhile, the controversial service area established on the Ring Road has also been removed from the route.

Meanwhile, NESPAK has completed the feasibility study for Phase-II of the Rawalpindi Ring Road with three options. The first option has been declared suitable, less costly and feasible.

Under the first option, the M-2 from Thallian to Hakla Interchange on the CPEC route can be expanded from 3+3 to 5+5 lanes. Its length would be 15.3 kilometres and the estimated cost would be Rs9 billion.

Under the second option, an additional 19.5-kilometre route would cost Rs18 billion, while the third option involves construction of a 26.5-kilometre route on the western side of the motorway at an estimated cost of Rs24 billion.