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President okays Islamabad-Pindi Expressway

* The project will cost Rs 14 billion, no land acquisition involved

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: An ambitious plan to build an expressway from Rawalpindi to Islamabad along the Nullah Leh and the rehabilitation of the problem of drain was announced on Thursday by Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed.

President General Pervez Musharraf gave the go-ahead for the Rs 14 billion project that has half of the amount reserved for the expressway, which is to have two lanes on each side.

Speaking at a news conference, following a meeting earlier in the day, Rasheed said that the work on the road project would begin on March 23 and it would comprise three phases to be completed in two years.

The first phase will be from Chaklala (Ammar Chowk) to Murree Road and from there on to Gawalmandi followed by the third phase that would run up to 1-9 in Islamabad, close to Katarian.

“The expressway will have no traffic signals and motorists won’t have to pay any toll tax,” said Rasheed who has been appointed the head of a committee constituted for overseeing the project.

The road, which will run on both sides of the nullah will have overheads at eight places and a mosque falling in its way will be rebuilt at an alternate location, he said. There will also be a three-metre wide service lane to facilitate people living alongside.

The project is aimed at reducing traffic congestion, improving environment and mitigating the floods, which have long been a source of concern for the residents. According to the plan, the Nullah Leh is to be cemented so that water flows through easily thereby averting danger of floods in future. Flooding in 2002 had wreaked havoc with the city.

The president, Rasheed said, had directed that disparities of civic facilities between Rawalpindi and Islamabad should be removed and sewerage disposal and treatment project of Leh should be run concurrently.

Meanwhile, the minister said that a new feasibility for building an overhead on Murree Road was to be prepared on the directives of Gen Musharraf. “The president wants the overhead to run from the Mall in Rawalpindi up to Faizabad,” he said. An earlier feasibility covered the area from Mareer Chowk to Chandni Chowk A plan to merge Rawalpindi with Islamabad was discussed just a bit and will be further deliberated upon later.

At Thursday’s meeting, presentation was given to the president by the Engineer-in-Chief of the Army. It was also attended by District Nazim Rawalpindi Raja Javed Akhlas and other senior officials.

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