ISLAMABAD-The federal government has decided to include four interchanges on different intersections of major avenues with Kashmir Highway in next Public Sector Development Programme to make it signal free.
It was decided in a meeting held under the chair of the Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Wednesday. The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on CDA Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan, MNA Raja Khuram Nawaz, Chairman and senior officers of CDA also attended this meeting.
The meeting discussed several future development projects for the capital city. It was decided in the meeting that the proposed interchanges on the intersections of 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th avenues with Kashmir Highway would be constructed with the funding of federal government under PSDP programme and same projects would be reflected in next budget.
According to the officers of Planning Wing, there are a total of nine interchanges planned on Kashmir Highway from Serena Hotel intersection to Golra Morr to make it fully signal free.
Three interchanges at the intersection of 8th Avenue commonly known as Zero Point, intersection of 9th Avenue commonly known as Peshawar Morr and 13th Avenue known as Gorla Morr have already been constructed.
However, the intersection on 6th Avenue commonly known as Serena Hotel Chowk, intersection of 7th Avenue commonly known as Abpara signal, and intersections of 10th, 11th and 12th avenues are planned between sectors G-9, G-10, and G-11 on Kashmir Highway respectively.
According to the master plan, there are multiple horizontal avenues in Islamabad that include IJP Road, Kashmir Highway and Margalla Avenue while vertical avenues includes 6th, 7th, and 9th avenues.
Meanwhile, the city managers also purposed an interchange on the intersection of 9th Avenue and IJP Road commonly known as double road signal but the minister of planning has directed CDA to construct this project by its own resources.
Chairman CDA has agreed with Asad Umar and directed the Planning Wing to start designing said project.
Sources told that it was suggested by CDA to widen and improve the existing IJP Road to four lanes from present two lanes. However, a consensus could not be reached as the planning minister was of the view that the traffic pressure on IJP road would be reduced once the stalled Rawalpindi Ring Road would be completed.
About a slaughterhouse in Islamabad, the source said that the project would be taken up under public-private partnership mode by the federal government.