Rawalpindi Ring Road R3 approved at Rs 51.3 billion as Punjab clears Rs 63 billion in schemes

Punjab's Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has approved the construction of Rawalpindi Ring Road R3, from Banth to Thalian, at an estimated Rs 51.326 billion, ProPakistani reported on Tuesday. It was one of three schemes worth about Rs 63.05 billion cleared at the PDWP's ninth meeting on Monday, 12 October, chaired by Dr Naeem Rauf, chairman of the Punjab Planning and Development Board.

The three schemes

The ring road accounts for more than four-fifths of the money approved. The PDWP did not publish start dates, completion dates or how the cost will be spread over the years.

What the ring road means for Rawalpindi

The ring road is planned to carry heavy through-traffic around Rawalpindi instead of through it. Today's approval covers construction of the R3 section from Banth to Thalian; the PDWP figures do not say when work starts.

For anyone weighing a plot along the route, the property tax calculator and the stamp duty calculator show what a purchase costs in Punjab, and the plot size converter turns marlas and kanals into square feet.

Other approvals

The PDWP also approved position papers for creating posts under eight schemes:

• Hatcheries for pangasius and other high-value fish
• Chief Minister's Youth Engagement Programme
• Safe City for the Katcha area
• An AI hub at PIFTAC
• The Punjab Legal Aid and Assistance Portal
• An AI platform to track industrial carbon emissions
• Greening industries in Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan and Sialkot
• The Spark initiative for sustainability planning and research