CM Maryam touts record road drive as Punjab completes 1,129 roads in 75 days, saves Rs11bn

• Punjab CM praises C&W Department for round-the-clock execution of 1,795km road network at a cost of Rs30b

• Directs mandatory lane marking on all provincial highways to improve road safety and traffic management

• Approves six modern service areas on Lahore Ring Road, projected to generate Rs500m in annual revenue by December

 LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday lauded the Communication and Works (C&W) Department for completing the construction and rehabilitation of 1,129 roads in just 75 days while saving Rs11 billion, and directed the authorities to ensure lane markings on all highways across the province to further improve road safety and infrastructure standards.

Chairing a high-level meeting to review the department's ongoing development projects, the chief minister also approved the establishment of six modern service areas along the Lahore Ring Road, which are expected to become operational by December this year. According to the briefing, the facilities are projected to generate an annual revenue of Rs500 million.

The meeting was informed that the Punjab government had completed construction and rehabilitation work on 1,129 roads covering 1,795 kilometres within 75 days at a cost of Rs30 billion by executing the projects round the clock in three shifts. Officials said the accelerated pace of implementation resulted in savings of Rs11 billion.

Commending the performance of the Communication and Works Department, the chief minister appreciated the timely completion of the projects and directed that lane markings on all provincial highways should be ensured without exception to promote safer and more organised traffic movement.

The meeting also approved a comprehensive plan for the beautification of the Lahore Ring Road and the restoration of its Northern Loop. A separate proposal for beautifying entry and exit points of roads across Punjab was also presented for consideration.

Officials briefed the meeting that approximately 32,000 kilometres of roads had been completed across Punjab over the past two and a half years, while 6,000 kilometres of roads were constructed or rehabilitated between April and July this year.

The meeting also reviewed progress under the "Sohne Pind Sohniyan Rahwan" programme aimed at strengthening rural road infrastructure across the province.

The participants were informed that a total allocation of Rs125 billion had been made for the Chief Minister's Initiative, local roads and projects nearing completion, while 99 per cent utilisation of development funds in the road sector had been ensured.

According to the briefing, the Local Roads Programme completed 1,567 development schemes covering 3,400 kilometres at a cost of Rs79 billion.

Officials further informed the meeting that the 93.5-kilometre Multan-Vehari dual carriageway, the 24-kilometre Faisalabad-Chiniot dual carriageway and the 13-kilometre Tourism Highway dual carriageway had been completed.

The meeting was told that 86 schemes under Phase-I of the Road Restoration Programme had achieved 77 per cent completion, while work on 41 schemes under Phase-II had reached 31 per cent completion. It was further informed that all 124 roads damaged by floods had been fully restored.

The briefing also stated that 42 new road construction schemes had been incorporated into the new financial programme. Officials said Rs17 billion had been earmarked for local roads and another Rs17.23 billion for the Chief Minister's Initiative, while 907 schemes, including Faisalabad-Chiniot Phase-II, had been approved under the public-private partnership model.

The meeting was informed that Rs14 billion would be utilised to complete road projects left unfinished by previous governments due to shortage of funds, while Rs51 billion had been approved for the construction of new roads across Punjab.

During the meeting, Secretary Communication and Works Raja Jahangir Anwar presented a comprehensive briefing on the department's development portfolio. The department also presented a commemorative souvenir to the chief minister, who directed officials to submit a final timeline for the completion of all under-construction roads across the province to ensure their timely execution.