RAWALPINDI: After the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) raised concerns regarding the project’s cost increase from Rs32 billion to Rs39 billion, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has sent a revised PC-I of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project to the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) in Lahore.
The revised document is likely to be discussed on Monday by the PDWP.
A senior RDA official let First light know that the CDWP protested the heightening in the expense of the Rawalpindi Ring Street and requested that the authority change the heightening by lessening other above charges, while guaranteeing that general venture cost stayed unaltered. However, the official stated that the construction cost could not be justified to accommodate the project’s increased cost.
He stated that Nespak, a consultant for this project, sent a letter to the Punjab government stating that other overhead costs would not be changed and that the construction cost of the project had increased from Rs32 billion to Rs39.6 billion. He claimed that Nespak used inflation to determine the cost. He stated that the price escalation provision had been made to ensure the project’s smooth execution and timely completion.
Following the input from Nespak, the revised PC-I had been submitted to the PDWP for its approval and would likely be approved on October 14. PDWP will take up project on Monday after federal body raises objections. It will then be presented to the CDWP, where it will be discussed, and then to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.
The authority said Rs1 billion had proactively been spent on the development and the venture would accelerate after the endorsement of the reexamined PC-I. He said that the undertaking was initially endorsed by ECNEC in December 2021 for Rs23.606 billion, with a finish time of three years. On February 4, 2022, the project’s cost was increased to Rs26.969 billion later on.
He stated that the RDA initially submitted the revised PC-I for Rs44 billion and then resubmitted the document after being asked to justify the cost by the PDWP. In May 2024, a PC-I for Rs32.9 billion was submitted.
The current project’s revised PC-I was cleared to be submitted to CDWP/ECNEC for approval. In such manner, the moment conspire was examined in a pre-CDWP meeting in July 2024.
“Due to the complexity of the project and to guarantee quality, the Pre-CDWP decided to move the completion date to September 2025. It was likewise concurred that project acceleration costs would be changed inside the complete reconsidered cost by lessening the other above charges, guaranteeing the general undertaking cost stays unaltered.” Following the meeting, a Rs39 billion PC-I was submitted with a 46-month gestation period until September 2025.
The proposed Ring Road is 38.3 kilometers long. At Baanth, Chak Baili Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road, and Thalian, it will have five interchanges. Around the highway, which will have six lanes and a design speed of 120 km/h, will be established an industrial zone.
Two routes for the project were planned during the PTI administration, and work began on the carriageway connecting Baanth on Grand Trunk Road to Thalian on the motorway later. Its establishment stone was laid by then-state leader Imran Khan in Walk 2022 after the Outskirts Works Association (FWO) was granted the agreement of the task.
In order to determine the best course of action, the PDM government temporarily halted work and selected third-party validation. In the third-party validation, a Turkish and Pakistani joint venture was then tasked with selecting the route from Baanth to Thallian. A day before the PDM government’s end, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone after receiving the report.
