Govt 'no' to changes in Ring Road Lahore project

[CMY]

LAHORE - The Punjab government has decided in principle to complete the construction of Lahore Ring Road (LRR) as per its current design, declining proposed changes in the project, The Nation learnt here on Tuesday.

According to present plan, the six-lane wide, 77-kilometre long Lahore Ring Road 'package number 9' will pass through the Gawala Colony situated in Urban Union Council No 41 instead of removing the whole colony as proposed in the extension plan

For this purpose, 130 shelters for buffaloes and cows would be shifted to other location. The government has decided to allot the land for the said shelters to other location soon. The operation to get the said shelters vacated from the occupants would get underway in upcoming days.

Construction work on Lahore Ring Road GT Road interchange 'package number 10, will also continue without any alteration as being planned. The Punjab government has ordered to expedite the work on the said 2 kilometre long road. It has also directed to fill up big trenches created due to excavation work. The authority concerned has also decided to demolish 8 factories, business centres, shops, 4 patrol pumps. 4 mosques, 5 graveyards, 2 imam barghas, 4 brick factories and thousands of houses coming on the way of construction of Lahore Ring Road. The whole area has been marked with red signs in this regard.

It may be recalled that people hailing from the areas of package number 10 falling in Momanpura, Handu Road, Kotli Ghasi and Waran Gujran have decided to stage protest demonstration against the construction of LRR. They believed that LRR passing through said area would inflict inumberable damages.

They favoured LRR which was to be passed through from Yadgar Shahidan and Manawan GT Road. They said that it was designed in last term of Shahbaz Sharif as CM Punjab. They warned the authority concerned of dire consequences if their grievances were not redressed.

Sources revealed that the LRR think-tanks had been planning to bring some changes in design of Lahore Ring Road to enhance the productivity of the project. "Some feasibility reports had also been conducted. After PML-N government was formed in Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif along with then Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa held numerous meetings to review LRR project and sought complete report regarding changes in its design," sources disclosed

Later on, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif after assuming charge as Chief Minister of Punjab examined the project thoroughly, they added. Sources informed that the same day, he took oath as CM Punjab, visited the site of LRR in front of Lahore Airport. "He took in-depth the review of pace of work and got marathon briefing on its construction. It was finalised that LRR would be constructed according to its current design," sourced disclosed.

According to design, there would be 14 interchanges on the road to provide better transport facilities to citizens. LRR will consist of six lanes while one emergency lane on both sides of the road will also be constructed. Almost 4,25,000 vehicles would pass through this road daily.All link roads with Lahore Ring Road would be improved and widened besides all important highways of the city will be repaired and reconstructed to cater to the flow of traffic. The Lahore Ring Road Project was launched on December 22, 2004 at a ground-breaking ceremony attended by President General Pervez Musharaf.

The Lahore Ring Road project was originally conceived 25 years ago and a few studies were carried out on it over this period. The road, touted as an alternative transport route to ease the traffic load within the city, was designed and redesigned in the past with a few alterations in it keeping in view the political and economic interests of many in the ruling party.


In 1991, JICA, an institution of Japan, proposed a road-loop in the city and the World Bank prepared a feasibility report on a 60 km ring road in the city. In 1995, the Lahore Development Authority presented its Ring Road scheme. At that time, Daewoo and other foreign companies had signed a memorandum of understanding with the LDA to build this road. However, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif wanted the Ring Road to include Raiwind Road where his family had built its farm houses. As a result, the amended road design proposed a length of 75 km. But this project could not take off.

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