Margalla Avenue to be open by the end of month, PM
ISLAMABAD: Margalla Avenue is expected to be officially opened by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by the end of this month. According to sources at the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the project should be finished in a week. They claimed the civic organisation intended to have the prime minister dedicate the project.
The remaining minor work is currently being done, and more than 90% of the work has already been finished. A CDA official stated that the process will be finished in a week and that asphalt had also been poured. He claimed that the municipal organisation was making every attempt to finish the project before the end of this month.
The 10.4 kilometer-long road from GT Road to D-12, which is being built at a cost of Rs 2 billion, was meant to be finished in June of last year, according to PC-I. The road had only two lanes at first, but the scope of the work was eventually expanded to include three lanes on each side. As a result, the contractor was granted an extension of six months, which concluded on December 30.
However, sources claim that despite a suggestion to extend the project for a further three months, CDA management instructed the contractor, FWO, to finish it within a month. “A fresh gift for the residents of Islamabad and those going to Islamabad – very soon,” CDA Chairman retired Capt Mohammad Usman captioned a video of the recently finished road on social media a few days ago.
The stretch of Margalla Road covered by the aforementioned contract runs from Grand Trunk Road to D-12, where it will be connected to Khayaban-i-Iqbal when an interchange and a minor section of 11th Avenue have been built. The CDA recently began building the road from D-12 to Khayaban-i-Iqbal in order to connect Margalla Avenue with other municipal roadways.
Beginning at D-12 (Margalla Avenue’s terminus), the CDA began building the 5.5 km-long road that would connect Khyaban-i-Iqbal to E-11 and 11th Avenue. The project, which costs about Rs3.9 billion and includes an interchange in E-11 as well as five culverts, is intended to be finished in six months. The CDA issued work orders for the project on December 21.
Under the guidelines of the Public Procurement Authority (PPRA), National Logistics Cell (NLC) was given this project under section 42(F) of the rules. Tenders are only invited by government firms under this provision. After it is finished, Margalla Avenue will serve as a direct route for traffic to and from GT Road. When Margalla Avenue is finished, according to CDA officials, traffic on Srinagar Highway would also lessen.
