Kahuta Y-Cross. Photo: TikTok
RAWALPINDI:
With the completion of the first six months (July-December) of the federal budget financial year 2025-26, work on the Soan-Sihala-Kahuta road project has progressed by only 5 percent due to persistent slowdown, despite the allocation of Rs23.845 billion.
The road, which provides access via Kahuta to Kotli and Rawalakot in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is also of strategic importance and has been designated a defense route. As part of the project, barely two kilometers of dual carriageway was constructed between Kahuta Y-Cross and Hothla Stop.
Despite the passage of six months in the current financial year, progress on the Rawalpindi-Kahuta road remains extremely slow. Currently, only a two-kilometer stretch from Kahuta Y-Cross to Hothla Stop has been widened and carpeted to form a two-lane road, while work on the remaining stretch from Y-Cross to Kahuta town is yet to begin.
It is pertinent to note that Kahuta road, which stretches 28.4 kilometers from Rawalpindi Soan to Kahuta, is to be upgraded to a dual carriageway. However, work has stalled at Hothla Stop and no marking has even been done on the remaining 26.4 kilometers. Similarly, the construction of the overbridge at Sihala level crossing is yet to begin.
For this vital road – connected to Azad Kashmir through two separate corridors and enjoying the status of a defense road – funds amounting to Rs 23.845 billion have been allocated in the current federal budget. The project had already been approved by ECNEC, the highest body of the federal government, on July 27, 2023. However, since the work did not begin thereafter, the funds were formally allocated again in the current year’s budget.
Sources said delays in converting the Rawalpindi Soan Camp-Kahuta stretch into a two-lane road have led to increased traffic pressure on the route, causing significant inconvenience to commuters. These delays have led to frequent road accidents, extended travel times, disruptions to business operations and difficulties in reaching key offices on time. Long queues of vehicles regularly form when the Sihala crossing is closed, while travelers heading from Rawalpindi to Kahuta, Rawalakot and Kotli in Azad Kashmir – and vice versa – continue to face severe difficulties.
Residents argued that if the Rawalpindi-Kahuta road was upgraded to a dual carriageway along with construction of a flyover at Sihala railway crossing, the 40-kilometre journey from Rawalpindi Kachehry to Kahuta Kachehry could be completed comfortably in 30 to 40 minutes. This, they added, would also ensure uninterrupted and timely movement of traffic heading towards Azad Kashmir beyond Kahuta.
Meanwhile, an NHA spokesperson, commenting on the delay of the Soan-Kahuta dual carriageway mega project, said that funding for the first package was to be provided by the Punjab government and work would begin immediately after receipt of funds.
Work on the second package, which falls under the purview of the NHA, is currently underway and is expected to accelerate before the end of the current financial year.
The spokesperson added that only Rs 800 million has been released for the project in the current financial year and work on the first package, as per PC-I, is conditional on the release of funds by the Punjab government.
