RAWALPINDI: The cost of the 38.3-kilometre Rawalpindi Ring Road has risen to Rs50.4 billion, its third upward revision, while toll plaza construction remains incomplete ahead of the planned opening in November.
The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) approved the revised PC-I at a meeting in Lahore last week. The project was initially estimated at Rs33 billion. In January, the Rawalpindi Development Authority sought Rs51 billion, but the PDWP approved Rs47 billion.
The latest request cited a 61 per cent rise in material prices. The PDWP allowed 38 per cent and directed that the project be completed within Rs50 billion.
A divisional administration official said the additional Rs3 billion reflects changes to toll plaza structures, a 38 per cent increase in material costs over two years, and a revised PC-I for the Thalian interchange. Land acquisition is not part of these figures. A total of 8,992 kanals were acquired for Rs6.7 billion, which would raise the overall cost to about Rs57 billion.
Deputy Project Director Ashfaq Sulheri said the road itself is complete, but toll booths at Baanth and Thalian are still being installed. The Punjab Ring Road Authority needs two more weeks to set up the Intelligent Transportation System and electronic toll collection.
Fencing from Baanth to Thalian and horticulture work along the route are finished. Work on the Thalian interchange will begin after the road opens. He said the Punjab government expects to open it to traffic in the first or second week of November.
The six-lane, controlled-access road has a design speed of 120km/h and a 90-metre right-of-way. It includes five interchanges, 11 overpasses, two river bridges, 12 bridges over nullahs and roads, and a railway bridge near Baanth.
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