Rawalpindi: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has decided to carry out the much delayed Nullah Leh Expressway and Flood Channel through funds provided by the government alone, news sources reported. The project will now be launched in the next fiscal year with 60% funding from the federal government and 40% from the Punjab government.
The project was previously approved to be financed under the Public-Private Partnership (3P) format by the National Economic Council’s Executive Committee (ECNEC) in December 2012. However, a new plan has now been prepared and the government has opted to complete the project with its own funding. The decision was made due to extensive delays in land acquisition and the project’s low urbanisation potential. The new plan calls for the Punjab government to spend PKR 65 billion on the building of the Leh Nullah and dual highway and PKR 25 billion on land acquisition.
The RDA will organise a public meeting on May 11 to discuss the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project. The project’s route is to be kept the same as previously announced; beginning in New Katarian on I.J. Principal Road and ending at Soan Bridge near the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Rawalpindi bench.
According to Proposed Concept-1 (PC-1), the project width of the concrete nullah and dual carriageway at New Katarian would be 55 metres, gradually increasing to 80 metres towards Soan Bridge. It is essential to mention that RDA has recently awarded the Nullah Leh Expressway project to Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).
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.
