CDA Shuts the Funds for Islamabad Ring Road

Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided not to allocate any funds for the Islamabad Ring road in the upcoming CDA budget which is supposed to be sent to the federal government for approval in a few days. The much-touted Ring road project was among the mega projects of the previous government in the jurisdiction of the twin cities. A CDA official on the condition of anonymity said, “It has been decided not to allocate funds for the Islamabad Ring Road in the new Capital Development Authority (CDA) budget supposed to be sent to the federal government,”. The previous government had a plan to connect the twin cities through the ring roads namely Islamabad Ring Road and Rawalpindi Ring Road.

The Islamabad Ring Road starting from Sangjani Interchange is supposed to culminate at the starting point of Rawalpindi Ring Road was to be constructed by the CDA but the civic agency has not allocated any budget in this regard in the upcoming fiscal year. The 50 km long Islamabad Ring Road was supposed to pass through various areas of the capital city which include Shah Allah Ditta, Margallah Hills, Bhara Kahu, and Kallar Sayyedan. The CDA was supposed to bear all the expenses of the Islamabad Ring Road which amount to the tune of around Rs 70 billion. It is also informed that there does not seem to be any allocation for the Rawalpindi Ring Road project either in the upcoming provincial budget.

It is relevant to mention here that the construction of Islamabad Ring Road and Rawalpindi Ring Road are very important projects for the residents of the twin cities. If executed in the future the heavy traffic from either side of the twin cities is to be managed through the Ring Road which would solve the woes and worries of the daily commuters to the twin cities. The entry of the heavy vehicles into the city was to be banned permanently and only Ring road was to be used for entering into and going out of the twin cities. Moreover, the execution of the two mega projects in the city namely Rawalpindi Ring Road and Leh Expressway would boost economic activities besides creating numerous job opportunities.