A view of the start of the Kachhari Chowk (flyover, underpass) mega project. Photo: INP
RAWALPINDI:
Construction of three additional underpasses at Qasim Market, Race Course and Cheering Cross on Peshawar Road, at a cost of Rs 7.2 billion, will begin in the last week of this month or in the first week of December.
According to officials, work on the Rs 14 billion infrastructure project at Kachehri Chowk, comprising three flyovers and three underpasses, is progressing rapidly.
Both the projects are scheduled to be completed by June 2026. The signal-free corridor from Kachehri Chowk to Expressway Chowk will be operational by June or July next year.
According to officials, Kachehri Chowk connects Jinnah Park Road, Rashid Minhas Road, Iftikhar Janjua Road, Mall Road and Jhelum Road.
To eliminate the increasing traffic pressure, the project includes three underpasses, three flyovers and road widening. The works are carried out round the clock under the supervision of the C&W Department, which acts as the executing agency, while FWO is the contractor.
The project has a completion target of eight months, ending in June 2026.
After completing the underpasses at TM Chowk and GPO Chowk, the C&W Department received bids from contracting firms for construction of three more underpasses at Qasim Market, Race Course and Cheering Cross.
These tenders will open this week, after which the contracts will be awarded. The estimated cost of these underpasses is Rs 7,200 crore.
According to C&W sources, the strategy is to start these three underpasses during the ongoing Kachehri Chowk project so that its construction can be completed within the same eight-month period.
