RAWALPINDI: Owing to a severe financial and economic crisis in Punjab, the government has excluded six major high-impact projects for Rawalpindi from the schedule of the new fiscal year despite repeated requests from the relevant departments. These projects have also been removed from the Punjab Annual Development Programme (ADP) and the District Annual Development Programme. With their exclusion, the possibility of launching these projects before December 31, 2027, has effectively ended.
Affected Projects
The six projects include the Leh Expressway, a sewerage tunnel and water treatment plant project aimed at transporting city sewage through a major pipeline for treatment and reuse in gardening and vehicle washing, the Ghazi Barotha Water Supply Project intended to meet the water needs of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for 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.
Cost Escalation
Their repeated exclusion from development programmes has sharply increased their estimated costs and diminished hopes of their early execution. The Leh Expressway, inaugurated by General Pervez Musharraf in 2007 at an estimated cost of Rs17 billion, has now reached an estimated cost of Rs100 billion after 19 years. The sewerage tunnel and water treatment plant project, initiated during the tenure of former chief minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at a cost of Rs30 billion, is now estimated at Rs75 billion. Similarly, the Ghazi Barotha Water Project, which was estimated at Rs17 billion in 2007, now carries an estimated cost of Rs110 billion.
The five commercial parking plazas planned for Murree Road, Raja Bazaar Junction, Commercial Market and Banni Chowk to address parking issues were estimated at Rs25 billion and have now risen to Rs55 billion. The Mother and Child Hospital project, initiated by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, was reportedly 95 percent complete, with a four-storey building, 13 operation theatres, machinery, and recruited staff in place. An inauguration was scheduled for April 30, but after the change of government, funding was stopped. The project later fell into disrepair and has now been discontinued due to the financial crisis.
The project to widen Murree Road by 30 feet on both sides and make it a signal-free corridor from Liaquat Bagh to Chandni Chowk has also been dropped. Although the Rawalpindi Development Authority had marked properties and issued notices, the Punjab government declined to provide funds.
Future Outlook
No new mega project funded through government resources will be launched in the Rawalpindi Division during the coming fiscal year. Priority will be given only to projects financed by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, or other foreign development agencies. Officials of the Planning and Development Board and the Punjab Finance Department confirmed that the six major projects had been excluded from the new fiscal year's programme. They said the projects may be included in the 2027-28 fiscal year and funds may then be allocated. All road widening and signal-free corridor projects in Rawalpindi Division have also been removed from the budget due to the financial crisis. Development agencies have been directed to seek foreign funding and private-sector financing for future schemes.
