Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) in a Board meeting chaired by the chairman Aamir Ali Ahmed on Monday decided to start work on the long-awaited and much-needed Expansion Of The Islamabad Expressway. The extension of the road from Korang Bridge to GT Road will be completed in two phases and the work on the first phase will be started soon, the CDA Board decided. Earlier the civic agency has completed the construction of the PWD Interchange and the construction work on the Korang Bridge will be completed in April this year.
It is to be noted that the Islamabad Expressway caters to both local and heavy traffic especially to and from Lahore. The ever-increasing volume of traffic on the road over the past few years and congestion from Korang to Rawat section prompted the city managers not only to construct bridges at Korang and PWD but also expand it from Korang Bridge to GT Road. According to a Board Member, “The board has decided to award the contract of the expressway under Rule 42(f) of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules, so as to ease the problems being faced by commuters on Koral-Rawat section of the highway,”. The member further added that according to the rule the civic agency can hire only government contractors and CDA has already engaged the FWO and NLC for the execution of its several ongoing projects.
According to a CDA officer, The Board decided to start work on the 2 KM portion from Korang Bridge to PWD interchange immediately which if completed would solve almost half of the problems of the Islamabad Expressway as it would transform the existing two lanes to four lanes. Previously many Developmental Projects In Islamabad are in progress under the supervision of CDA. Now, this project is very much needed due to the mushrooming growth of housing societies on both sides of the Expressway has resulted in massive congestion which with thousands of slow-moving long vehicles on the road adding to the miseries of the commuters of the twin cities. The officer also added that after bidding the road construction would be awarded to the lowest bidder from government contractors such as FWO, NLC, and National Construction Company. The officer of the civic agency told that Rs 2 billion have already been allocated for the construction of the road however the engineering wing of the CDA would construct the 2 km on its own and would request the government to provide funds for the remaining seven KMs portion up to GT Road.
The official of the engineering wing said that the civic agency is mindful of the poor condition of the road from Korang Bridge to GT Road which needs immediate action. He said, “Until the expansion of the entire 9km stretch from Korang to GT Road is carried out, motorists will continue suffering. Therefore, the CDA should go for expansion and widening of the entire road”. It is pertinent to mention here that the work on the PWD interchange has already been completed and the work on Korang Bridge is in progress which will be completed in the next four months.
