RAWALPINDI:
The completion of Phase 1 of Rawalpindi Ring Road, a project with an estimated cost of Rs 50 billion, which could not be completed within the deadline set by the Punjab Chief Minister in the year 2025, is now scheduled for March 2026.
Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) also claimed that the feasibility study and PC-I for phase two of the Ring Road would be completed by March next year.
According to details, the feasibility study of phase two of Ring Road, extending from Thalian Interchange on M-2 Highway to GT Road (M-5), will entail an estimated cost of Rs 52 million and is expected to be completed by March 2026. Following this, the PC-I of the project will be prepared, for which the services of NESPAK have been engaged.
It is pertinent to note that the Rawalpindi Ring Road begins at Banth Mor on GT Road and ends at Thalian Interchange on the highway after covering a distance of 38.6 kilometers. The cost of the project increased from Rs33b to Rs50b. During an inspection of the site, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had ordered that the project should be completed at any cost by December 30, 2025.
However, according to GDR sources, around 75 percent of the work has been completed so far. The land acquisition process is currently underway to convert Thalian Interchange into a full-scale interchange, enabling its use for future expansions.
Although the first phase is expected to be completed by March 2026, GDR sources warn that it cannot be assured with certainty whether the project, including the large-scale Thalian interchange, will be fully completed by then.
