Rawalpindi: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has directed the Punjab provincial administration to begin construction work on the 16.5-kilometre-long Leh Expressway and Flood Channel project by December, news sources reported.
The projects worth PKR 55 billion will be completed under the Public-Private Partnership Programme (PPP) and will improve the commute between the twin cities while also preventing monsoon flooding. As per the details shared, the Punjab government has already appointed Commissioner Rawalpindi Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah as the project director and he will soon constitute a Project Management Unit (PMU) for the multi-billion rupee projects.
As per the survey conducted at the start of the year, the government needs 1,279-kanal land for the proposed project, which includes land from the private sector, government and cantonment areas. The expressway is being developed as an alternative route to connect the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It is also expected to be the permanent solution that will prevent the flooding of the area during the annual monsoon season.
Furthermore, the Punjab government is also planning to improve infrastructure along the proposed Leh Expressway under the Urban Regeneration Project, which is expected to be made part of the Annual Development Programme. The Punjab Development Working Party (PDWP) approved the PMU of Urban Regeneration Project on July 4 this year, in a bid to generate revenue and prevent monsoon flooding.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
