LAHORE: After several delays, the Punjab government’s elevated expressway project to ease Lahore’s traffic issues has been included in the Master Plan 2050.
As per the details, the provincial finance department wants federal government clearance to undertake the project since the anticipated cost has risen to Rs. 85 billion.
An official said that the project’s cost has gone up by roughly Rs. 54 billion as a result of a lack of funding and the delay in getting the work started.
According to the design, an elevated track would be constructed from the Home Economics College in Gulberg across a stream, bypassing Shadman, Samanabad, Ferozepur Road, and Gulshan Ravi, before ending at the highway.
The project’s initial projected cost was Rs. 31 billion, however, construction could not be begun and the idea was left hidden in the archives.
The sources told that the proposed project, which calls for the construction of four lanes of the elevated highway spanning 10.5km, was put on hold for over three and a half years before work on it was resumed by the administration led by former chief minister Usman Buzdar.
LDA would receive 801 Kanal of private property for the purpose and the cost of the land will be reimbursed to the owners.
Besides, there will also be compensation for those who were harmed by buildings collapsing into the passage, for which Rs. 3.5 billion has been set aside.
According to an estimate, 73,866 cars will be able to pass along the highway in a day and it would take 15 months for the project to be completed.
It is worth noting that after the project’s approval by the former CM Buzdar, LDA officials allegedly gave him the assurance that construction would start as soon as funding became available.
In order for the project to be launched in March of last year, the former chief minister had instructed the finance department to provide money to LDA, which was not released.
Furthermore, construction’s current anticipated cost of Rs. 85 billion might go much higher if it is delayed again.
Due to the project’s significance, it has been added to the Lahore Master Plan 2050 so that construction may begin whenever finances become available from the government.
Surprisingly, only 20% of the necessary land, according to LDA sources, has been purchased in Shadman and Gulshan Ravi thus far.
The previous administration had authorized the design, according to LDA Director General Amir Ahmad Khan, but the cost had gone up due to the rising cost of the building supplies.
