CDA To Launch Two New Interchange Projects
Two new interchange projects are on the cards in Islamabad while a technical committee has recommended to the civic agency to accept a bid it received last month for the construction of a flyover at Sihala.
Meanwhile, the CDA’s Development Working Party will resume work on the two new interchanges at Shaheen Chowk on Ninth Avenue and E-11 Chowk on Khayaban-i-Iqbal/Margalla Road, which has been rescheduled to meet on Wednesday.
The Shaheen Chowk development is expected to cost Rs1.47 billion, while the E-11 Chowk project would cost Rs1.42 billion.
“We have no issue of funding and within a few months both the new interchange projects will be launched,” CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed told Dawn. He said once completed the two projects will provide relief to motorists on Khayaban-i-Iqbal/Margalla Road and Ninth Avenue.
He said that the CDA will also employ a traffic management expert to improve vehicle mobility and safety at various places. The CDA invited financial proposals for the Sihala flyover on Kahuta Road last month, and the lowest price was 16 percent more than the anticipated cost.
The issue was raised before a technical committee, which suggested to CDA management that it be approved, citing recent increases in steel and other construction material. The CDA, on the other hand, has yet to issue a letter of commencement. The CDA has received the lowest bids in the previous two years, with certain projects receiving bids that were 30 percent lower than the projections.
The CDA received bids that were lower than expected for all three active projects: the P.W.D underpass, Korang bridge, and Rawal Dam junction. According to another CDA officer, the matter of the high offer was brought before a five-member technical committee, which recommended that it be accepted. The CDA was also advised by a consultant to accept the proposal. The major cause, he claimed, was a rise in steel and cement prices.
Meanwhile, additional projects costing billions of rupees will be discussed during the CDA’s 52nd Development Working Party meeting, which will be placed at the CDA headquarters.
These include a 100-bed facility at the CDA Hospital worth Rs186 million, a two-year plan of Rs57 million for rainwater harvesting, a two-year plan of Rs4 billion for construction of parking areas in commercial areas, a one-year plan worth Rs185 million for construction of a bridge on Kayani Road to ease traffic flow in Bhara Kahu, an Rs1,168 million project for the development of D-12, and a three-year plan worth Rs3,500 million to maintain and enhance the natural beauty and greenery of Margalla Hills National Park.