Punjab drops six major Rawalpindi projects from new fiscal year plan

ISLAMABAD: Punjab has left out six major high-impact projects for Rawalpindi from the development schedule for the upcoming fiscal year amid what officials described as a severe financial and economic crisis, according to officials of the Planning and Development Board and the Punjab Finance Department.

The projects have also been removed from both the Punjab Annual Development Programme and the District Annual Development Programme, despite repeated requests from the departments concerned. With their exclusion, the chances of starting work on them before Dec 31, 2027, have effectively ended.

The schemes include the Leh Expressway; a sewerage tunnel and water treatment plant project designed to carry city sewage through a major pipeline for treatment and reuse for gardening and vehicle washing; the Ghazi Barotha Water Supply Project for the water needs of Rawalpindi and Islamabad over the next 100 years; construction of five commercial parking plazas; the Murree Road signal-free corridor from Liaquat Bagh to Chandni Chowk; and the Mother and Child Hospital project.

Costs rise after repeated delays

Officials said repeated exclusion of these projects from development programmes had sharply pushed up their estimated costs and weakened prospects for their early completion.

The Leh Expressway was inaugurated by General Pervez Musharraf in 2007 with an estimated cost of Rs17 billion. After 19 years, its projected cost has climbed to Rs100 billion. The sewerage tunnel and water treatment plant scheme, launched during the tenure of former chief minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at Rs30 billion, is now estimated at Rs75 billion.

The Ghazi Barotha Water Project, which carried an estimated price tag of Rs17 billion in 2007, is now put at Rs110 billion. The five planned parking plazas for Murree Road, Raja Bazaar Junction, Commercial Market and Banni Chowk were initially estimated at Rs25 billion and are now expected to cost Rs55 billion.

Hospital and road scheme also affected

The Mother and Child Hospital project, initiated by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, was reportedly 95 per cent complete. A four-storey building had been constructed, 13 operation theatres had been set up, machinery had been installed and staff had been recruited. Its inauguration had been scheduled for April 30, but funding was stopped after a change of government. The project later fell into disrepair and has now been discontinued because of the financial crisis.

The project to widen Murree Road by 30 feet on both sides and convert it into a signal-free corridor from Liaquat Bagh to Chandni Chowk has also been dropped. The Rawalpindi Development Authority had already marked properties and issued notices, but the Punjab government did not release funds for the scheme.

No new government-funded mega project in division

According to the officials, no new mega project financed through government resources will be launched in Rawalpindi Division in the coming fiscal year. They said priority would instead be given to projects backed by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and other foreign development agencies.

The same officials said the six projects could be taken up in fiscal year 2027-28 and funds may then be allocated. They also said all road-widening and signal-free corridor schemes in Rawalpindi Division had been removed from the budget because of the financial crisis, while development agencies had been directed to seek foreign funding and private-sector financing for future schemes.