Another twin of Islamabad in the pipeline

As per Zameen.com’s information, CDA is currently working on another mega project near Islamabad, as per which another twin capital city would be built near the Margalla Hills. This “New Islamabad” would be connected with the “Old Islamabad” via a tunnel. This project is said to be built in a way similar to the Sheikh Zaid Avenue project in Dubai. The US $12 billion project would also include the construction of two Ring Roads between Islamabad and Rawalpindi along with a new airport in Rawat. PM Nawaz Sharif is expected to publicly announce the initiation of this project once all details are finalized.

This is yet another mega project on the plate of the CDA, which is already rather busy with the recently announced Economic Zone project. The authority is actively working on acquiring over twenty five thousand acres of land, part of which will also be used for building the new capital city. Expanding Islamabad Highway into an 8-10 lane road with high rise buildings on both the side to replicate the Sheikh Zaid Road of Dubai is also on the cards for the new government.

The new airport planned for Rawat will be connected to the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. The government hopes to generate billions of dollars via the sale of the commercial land surrounding the Islamabad Highway, elevating the value to CDA’s Economic Zone has well.

The government is also said to be taking extensive measures to lure overseas Pakistanis to invest in this project. Other than that, the government also feels the residents of both Islamabad and Rawalpindi would greatly benefit from the two Ring Roads planned. As per a rough estimate, the total expense of these projects is estimated to be Rs 70 billion.