Rawalpindi: The Punjab Finance Department has approved funds worth PKR 6.3 billion to acquire land for the development of the 51-kilometre-long Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR)’s right-of-way (ROW), according to a news source published on August 19. The process will be initiated once the requisite amount has been transferred to the land acquisition collector’s account.
Reportedly, the Punjab Private Public Partnership Authority had already approved the PC-I for the RRR land acquistion. Now, the Punjab Government is expected to issue the official notification for land acquisition for the project. The land will be acquired under the venture’s first phase, which includes the development of the 51-kilometre-long and 110 metre wide ROW that will link the Radio Pakistan Building in Rawat on GT Road with the China-Pakistan Economic (CPEC) Route in Fateh Jang.
While the project was initially proposed 15 years ago, it has faced several delays since then due to one reason or the other — including a lack of funding. Additionally, the Asian Infrastructure Bank of China also refused to provide funds for the venture due to the various changes that were made to the originally proposed route for the RRR. Now, the government is expected to develop the ring road project under the private-public partnership (PPP) mode.
The project has become a priority development for the government, since it is deemed indispensable for fixing the various traffic issues currently plaguing Rawalpindi.
