ISLAMABAD: City managers of twin cities held a meeting about the Rawalpindi Ring Road project after Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to construct an interchange and a portion of the road falling in the jurisdiction of the capital.Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ali Ahmed, Commissioner Rawalpindi Mohammad Mehmood, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Director General Abdul Stattar Isani and others attended the meeting on Tuesday.

The Ring Road, which starts at Rawat and terminates at Sangjani, is a project of the Punjab government. The provincial government also wants to construct a two km road and an interchange at Sangjani that falls in the limits of Islamabad. However, the CDA has been stating that it will construct the portion of the road and the interchange in its limits.

Sources in the CDA said there was no logic behind the demand of the Punjab government to carry out construction work in the limits of Islamabad when the CDA was willing to do it. During the meeting, the officers of Punjab government were told about the prime minister’s directive and CDA’s point of view.

The CDA officers told them that besides carrying out the said project, the CDA was also going to construct its planned Margalla Avenue which would start from Sangjani.

The CDA officers said as per rules the CDA was authorised to construct the interchange and the portion of road in limits of the capital. The Punjab government officers were told that if they wanted to carry out the project they should convince the federal government. An official of the CDA said the civic agency was ready to carry out the project and would also earmark a commercial area there.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2021