Lahore: The Punjab government has granted Administrative Approval (AA) for two projects – Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR), and Leh Expressway and Flood Channel – worth PKR 48.4 billion, according to a news story published on Monday (January 24).
According to sources, the final approval allows the public sector departments or authorities to start bidding and tendering processes to complete the project. An official (whose name was not disclosed) stated that the relevant authorities have been ordered to quickly start the bidding proves so the civil works on the mega projects can be launched.
As per the details, the approval for RRR comprises the estimates of the total cost (including civil works, land acquisition, etc). The government awarded final approval on the assurance from the Planning Commission to fund the establishment of additional lanes on Peshawar-Islamabad (M-1) and Islamabad-Lahore (M-2) Motorways when required.
Moreover, for Leh Expressway, the approval consists of land acquisition cost as it will be implemented under Public-Private Partnership. The Leh Expressway project was granted conditional approval, which stated that no expense will be incurred until the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study was completed.
According to a letter issued, the Punjab Housing Urban Development & Public Health Engineering Department granted the approval for the mega projects. The merger plans submitted by the committee will be executed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), National Highway Authority (NHA), and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).
Reportedly, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the two projects in December 2021.
Iqra holds BS in International Relations and is passionate about writing engaging content on trending real estate topics. When not working, she is either spending time with family, shopping, or discussing shows & movies.
