The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has given a firm timeline for the long-delayed Ring Road, announcing that the project is expected to be finished by April this year.
RDA Director General Kinza Murtaza, speaking at a New Year’s press briefing at the Rawalpindi Press Club alongside Chief Engineer Anwar Baran and Director Planning Tahir Mayo, said that around 78% of the construction work has already been completed.
She added that planning for Phase II of the Ring Road has also begun, indicating that the authority is looking beyond the initial stretch and preparing for a broader corridor.
Explaining the project’s significance, Murtaza said the Ring Road will link the M-2 motorway and CPEC route to Margalla Avenue via the Thalian Interchange.
The corridor is planned to host a bus and truck terminal as well as a wholesale vegetable and fruit market, shifting heavy traffic and bulk trade away from the city’s core. Under the proposed traffic plan, large buses will not be allowed to go beyond T-Chowk.
Murtaza also said that a national transport policy is being drawn up in coordination with other authorities to streamline intercity and intra-city movement, with the Ring Road acting as a key backbone for future planning around Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
She noted that individuals involved in the RDA financial scandal would be removed from service once the inquiry concludes, insisting that internal accountability is part of ensuring that flagship projects like the Ring Road are completed transparently.
Alongside the Ring Road update, the DG highlighted reforms such as making tree plantation mandatory for new housing plans, shifting building and commercialization files entirely to an online system, and pushing for more green electric buses, which she described as a success story.