The prime minister said that Pakistan came into being after countless sacrifices, adding that the country would regain its lost status. He vowed: “Together we will change the destiny of this nation.”
Talking about the project, he said this project was delayed for many years but when we pushed, it has been completed in just few months.
He appreciated the role of Chairman Capital Development Authority and Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali Ahmed, who worked hard to get this flyover opened in a short span of time.
Prime minister also thanked the Director General Frontier Works Organization for their all-out efforts for the completion of this stalled project in a few months.
Shehbaz Sharif also asked the chairman CDA to give him a presentation over another project Bhara Kahu Bypass for which earlier the deadline of September was slated to start work on site.
However, prime minister asked chairman CDA to complete it in four months once started and also offered him Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, if he will successfully complete this project within the given timeline.
He also directed the city managers to start intercity bus service within one month and urged the local leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to work hard to achieve the desired goals.
The Rawal Dam Chowk project in addition to two others was awarded to a joint venture of Maqbool Associates and Calson in June 2020.
The contractor completed almost 90 percent of work on the PWD underpass and it was opened for traffic. However, it had stopped working on other two projects, Rawal Dam Interchange and Korang Bridge, in March 2022 due to price escalation.
In the meantime, the government had changed in the capital and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his early days in the office had paid a surprise visit to this project where he expressed his dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work. He also got annoyed after knowing that the project was given to Maqbool Associates and Calson because the same company was blacklisted by Punjab government during younger Sharif’s tenure as chief minister Punjab, when the company was employed on Orange Line Lahore. A decision to handover this project to FWO was taken during the visit of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who inspected work on the under-construction interchange and after a briefing, it was decided to change the contractor with a direction to start the construction within 72 hours.
Later, the project was handed over to the FWO, which has agreed to complete the project without demanding any escalation in the cost in the contract.
The project includes multiple slip roads and one underpass as well as an overhead bridge and a separate underpass connecting Margalla Town. The project is being constructed at the junction of Murree Road, Club Road and Park Road.