President General Pervez Musharraf will inaugurate the 60-km long Ring Road project approximately costing Rs 19 billion here on Monday. Punjab Minister for Works Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan, who is also general secretary Pakistan Muslim League Punjab, told APP here on Sunday that the construction of the first phase of the ring road starting from Mehmood Booty to Baba Sabu will start tomorrow after its formal inauguration by the president.
He said 14 exits have been planned at different important junctions on the entire ring road to facilitate road users to reach their destination from the nearest exit. He said the project would be completed in phases in two-and-half-year period under the supervision of a high-level technical committee.
The minister said the ring road would ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic in the provincial metropolis facing acute traffic mess as a result of heavy congestion on roads. He said nearly 10,000 new vehicles are being added in city every month and no expansion of road network has so far been designed or planned to handle the alarming situation.
Chaudhry Zaheer said provincial chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi realising problems being faced by the people, decided to construct the ring road on priority basis.
About the timely payment of compensation to the affectees of the ring road, the minister said that initially the chief minister has set aside an amount of Rs 4 billion, which will be distributed among the genuine affectees soon.
Regarding the delay in the construction of underpasses at new campus, he said the project is almost completed and would be opened for traffic in couple of days.
He said the provincial government has allocated a major chunk of the total budget for the construction and expansion of road network across the province to accelerate the process of rapid economic growth.
Later, the minister along with provincial secretary communication Syed Sibtain Fazal Haleem and other senior officers reviewed arrangements for the inauguration ceremony at the site.