Federal Government Seeks Foreign Investment For the Development of Rawalpindi Ring Road

According to Dawn, a senior official at Punjab Planning and Development Department has stated that five mega projects have been enlisted for which a foreign investment will be fetched. This decision was taken after the ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Shareef’s visit to UAE.

According to resources, these projects include;

• Rawalpindi Ring Road
• Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway
• Parco Coastal Refinery Phase-I Oil Import Terminal
• Karachi Circular Railway
• Rail Connectivity of Thar Block-II with the railway network

It has been also highlighted that the government wanted to execute the project of the Rawalpindi Ring Road through foreign investment instead of executing it under ADP or through local investors.

The official also stated that the reason behind the foreign investment is to enable the overseas investors to construct, operate, and transfer the Rawalpindi Ring Road like that of the Motorway. Instructions have also been directed by the federal government to RDA to appoint a focal person who would act as an intermediary between the federal government and the foreign office for the project.

Previously, the project was initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan and was awarded to FWO in 2019. It cost PKR 33.7 billion; Rs. 27 billion for construction and Rs. 6.7 billion for the acquisition of land.

The 38.3 KM long road initiates at N-5 and progresses through Chakbeli Road, Chakri Road, and Adiala Road, and terminates at M-2 at Thallian Interchange.

However, the officials have stated that the foreign investors will survey all 5 projects and will opt for a project for investment. This means that it cannot be said for sure if the acquired foreign investment will be spent for the development of Rawalpindi Ring Road.