City managers on Monday decided to expand a portion of Srinagar Highway with the construction of an underpass near Serena Chowk and the widening of Jinnah Avenue in G-9 and F-9 sections.
Various development projects were addressed by the Capital Development Authority Development Working Party (CDA-DWP), which met at CDA headquarters under the chairmanship of Noorul Amin Mengal.
In addition to CDA officers, members of the Planning Commission were present at the meeting.
The employment of a consultant to create a feasibility study and design for an expansion of the Srinagar Highway from the 7th Avenue Interchange to Serena Chowk, where an underpass will also be built, was approved by the authorities.
Cycling tracks will be made up on both sides of the road as part of this project.
For this project, a sum of Rs. 8.5 million was also approved.
In two months, the consultant is expected to finish his assignment. The council also authorized a PC-I for the widening of Jinnah Avenue at the G-9/F-9 sector, costing Rs482.6 million. Along with the cycling track, the road will be widened and given two additional tracks.
The project is supposed to be completed within six months.
The National Bus Terminal will be built in sector I-11, and the committee also approved consulting services for engineering design and engineering feasibility. An amount of Rs. 10 million has been approved for it.
The consultant will conduct a study to connect the terminal with the current metro bus network. The terminal will be for a public bus service.
In two months, the consultant will complete his assignment.
The committee also approved a PC-I for the installation of security gates at various locations within the Red Zone, costing Rs. 52 million.
Two other agenda items, the development of the Chatta Bakhtawar project and a mega project linked to infrastructure and development in rural Islamabad, according to sources, have been delayed.
They also said that the CDA’s engineering division planned to complete multi-billion dollar development projects in rural areas through a two-year initiative with its own funds, but the committee opted to postpone this.
It was decided that input from the federal government should also be taken before this project is taken up again. The CDA has been focusing mainly on urban areas. The PTI government carried out some development projects in rural areas as well that included the construction of the Malal bridge and Kayani bridge.
