Children’s Hospital, RR, Kahuta Road and major water projects remain unfinished
RAWALPINDI:
Several major development projects under construction in Rawalpindi have been postponed to the new financial year 2026-27 after remaining unfinished at the close of the financial year 2025-26.
These include Children’s Hospital, Rawalpindi Ring Road Phase I and II, Raja Bazaar Beautification Project and Commercial Market, Rawalpindi-Kahuta Road and Chahan Dam Water Supply Project.
The status of proposed projects, including Daducha Dam, Chahan Dam, Leh Nullah Sewerage and Flood Control Canal, and alternative traffic routes, is also expected to be determined in the new financial year.
According to sources, the mother and child hospital, which has been under construction for 21 years, has been included in the 2026-27 budget as a children’s hospital with an estimated cost of Rs 9.264 billion.
However, only Rs 494.402 million has been allocated for the current financial year, while the remaining Rs 8.442 billion has been carried over to the financial year 2027-28, making it unlikely that the project will be completed in the current year.
The Rawalpindi-Kahuta road project, which was included in the previous year’s budget with an estimated cost of Rs 23.845 billion, recorded only one kilometer of physical progress.
It has now been included in the new budget with a revised estimate of Rs23.545 billion, with only Rs1 billion allocated for the current year, making its completion uncertain.
Phase I of the 38.6 kilometer Rawalpindi Ring Road from Banth Interchange on GT Road to Thalian Interchange, costing Rs 46.64 billion, is nearing completion but is yet to become operational as a thoroughfare. The Thalian Interchange, costing Rs 4.7 billion, is expected to be completed in the current financial year.
The Raja Bazaar and Commercial Market underground cabling and beautification project, launched at an initial cost of Rs 875 million, is also expected to be completed this year, after which its final cost will be determined.
The Asian Development Bank-backed water supply project, supplied with water from the Chahan, Rawal and Khanpur dams, costing more than 33 billion rupees and expected to provide Rawalpindi with an additional 17 million gallons of water per day, is now scheduled to be completed in December 2027.
Work on the Daducha and Chahan dam water supply projects could not begin in the previous financial year, but their future is expected to be decided in the 2026-27 financial year.
