Rawalpindi: The Punjab government has announced its decision to construct a parking plaza on a chunk of land provided by the Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) – situated at Fawwara Chowk, according to news sources.
The space (with a capacity to house 1,000 vehicles) in the vicinity was constructed by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA). However, it runs out of space during peak hours.
The land selected for the project – on City Saddar Road – was owned by RMC and is lying vacant after the corporation relocated its offices to a new complex on Liaquat Road, back in 2004.
Presently, the land (measuring 13 Kanals, 11 Marlas) is being used a wagon stand and generating a revenue of PKR 5 million for RMC.
Commissioner (r) Captain Mohammad Mehmood presented a proposal to the provincial government to utilise this land and construct a parking-cum-commercial plaza, to be operated on a build, operate and transfer model. The commissioner confirmed that the project has been granted go ahead.
He said that in the initial phase, warehouses will be constructed in the basement, while the ground floor will be reserved for shops. He said that three floors above the ground floor will be developed to offer parking space to over 1,000 vehicles. There will also be a rooftop restaurant to offer tourists an aerial view of historic Raja Bazaar.
Stressing on the issue of traffic, the commissioner said that over 60,000 vehicles come to Raja Bazar daily and that more parking plazas are needed to accommodate them in Rawalpindi’s commercial areas.
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