Authorities have decided to shelf the controversial Islamabad Ring Road project for the next fiscal year.
“It has been decided not to allocate funds for the Islamabad Ring Road in the new Capital Development Authority (CDA) budget supposed to be sent to the federal government,” the Express Tribune quoted an official as saying.
The Islamabad and Rawalpindi Ring Roads were two of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s flagship projects, meant to connect the twin cities.
The Islamabad Ring Road is supposed to start from Sangjani Interchange and finish at the starting point of Rawalpindi Ring Road.
The 50-kilometer-long Islamabad Ring Road will pass through Shah Allah Ditta, Margalla Hills, Bhara Kahu, F-Series sectors, Charah and Kallar Syeddan. Traffic coming from Hazara and Gilgit-Baltistan was also supposed to link the ring road directly from the Hazara side.
The project was estimated to cost Rs. 70 billion, and the federal government was supposed to bear all expenses through the CDA.
PTI MNAs from Islamabad, Asad Umar, and Ali Nawaz Awan, had also agreed to provide funds for the project from MNA’s fund.
However, both the federal government and the CDA have shown their inability to allocate funds for its construction.
Commenting on the development, former Federal Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said that both the ring roads are a game-changer and state-of-the-art projects for the twin cities.
“Immediate work will be started on these two projects with the return of the PTI to power after the elections. By that time, the estimated cost of both these projects is also likely to increase,” he added.
