Pakistan Day parade: ‘90% of work completed’

ISLAMABAD:

The Frontier Works Organization (FWO) has completed almost 90 per cent of construction work on Parade Ground — a site near Shakarparian permanently designated for Pakistan Day parades on March 23.

The CDA provided this update on Wednesday in a meeting to review arrangements for the upcoming event.

The Rs635 million project is being funded by CDA and the federal government under the Public Sector Development Program.

“Leftover work is being completed quickly as the government has decided to hold a joint military services parade on March 23…after a lapse of seven years,” said a CDA officer who attended the meeting.

In 2007, thousands of trees were felled in the one square kilometre area — between Garden Avenue and Faizabad — along Islamabad Highway to develop the area.

The project was supposed to be completed by March 23, 2008, but was abandoned due to security issues and funding constraints.

According to the project plan, the parade ground is supposed to accommodate all participating troops, march-pasts and drive-pasts in phase I. In the second phase, seating for 37,000 spectators and a parking lot to accommodate 10,000 cars will be constructed.

The official said the meeting also reviewed other arrangements, including printing of invitation cards for the ceremony and the guest list. He said security and traffic plans had not been discussed as these would be the responsibility of the army’s 111 Brigade and Military Police. He said another meeting on the same issue is scheduled to be held at Air Headquarters on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2015.