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Rs 1.2 billion RDA project: Construction of parking plaza to start in Dec

* RTA asked to vacate Fawara Chowk wagon stand
* SNGPL, PTCL and WAPDA asked to shift utility services

By Aamir Yasin

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Thursday asked Regional Transport Authority (RTA) to vacate the wagon stand at Fawara Chowk to start construction of Rs 1.2 billion multi-storey Parking Plaza.

A well-placed source in RDA told Daily Times that RDA Director General Makeen Shahbaz had written to Secretary RTA to immediately shift the wagon stand from Fawara Chowk to Liaquat Road near Government Gordon College, as RDA would start construction of parking plaza next month.

Utility services: He said RDA had also asked the SNGPL, PTCL and WAPDA to shift the utility services in and around the wagon stand and it allocated Rs 2.5 million for the shifting of utility services.

He said the parking plaza was RDA’s first experience and it had completed all arrangements to make this project a success. He said the authority had already approved the design submitted by the National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) and finalised the contractor.

NESPAK: He said NESPAK had completed the design of the plaza, which could absorb quake-shocks. He said the plaza would cover four kanals and accommodate at least 1,500 two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles on daily basis.

He said construction of a parking plaza was need of the hour, as traffic congestion in the city was a routine matter in the downtown due to growing number of vehicles. He said RDA had come up with the parking plaza after taking stock of the parking problems in the area.

He said RDA would construct the plaza vertically to meet shortage of space.

He said after the completion of the Parking Plaza, the wagon would be shifted to its basement to make the city clear from the traffic congestion.

He said according to a study conducted by RDA, over 60,000 vehicles passed through Fawara Chowk daily. He said roadsides of the chowk could accommodate parking of only 200 vehicles against requirement of place 1,200 vehicles.

He said parking plazas on main roads eased traffic flow throughout the world, especially in New York and Dubai.

He said RDA would initially construct three floors of the plaza as a pilot project and allocated Rs 80 million for this purpose in its annual budget. He said the remaining two floors would be built in coming years.

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