New Road Approved to Connect Margalla Avenue With Motorway

A new road project has been finalized to connect Margalla Avenue with the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1), officials revealed on Sunday.

According to sources, the road will span 3.4 kilometers—1.8 km in Rawalpindi and 1.6 km in Islamabad. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will be responsible for the entire construction.

The project requires acquiring 181 kanals of land—51 kanal in Islamabad’s Sangjani area and 130 kanal in Rawalpindi’s Badana Kurd. The land acquisition process has already begun, and compensation rates will be announced soon by the concerned authorities.

The new alignment avoids residential areas, unlike earlier plans. The CDA’s land directorate and the ICT Revenue Department jointly completed the pre-award phase, and the engineering wing is expected to begin construction once approvals are given.

“This road is vital to fully utilize Margalla Avenue,” said CDA Member Engineering Syed Nafasat Raza. “As soon as land acquisition is complete, we’ll move forward with construction.”

The Rs. 5.45 billion project—approved in August 2023—includes both construction and land acquisition. It will feature a six-lane road designed to offer an alternative route for commuters between Islamabad and GT Road (N-5).

Officials aim to complete the project within eight months after work begins. The original plan for Margalla Avenue extended from Bhara Kahu to GT Road through Margalla’s foothills, but that section remains incomplete.