LAHORE, Jul 07 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has praised the Communication and Works (C&W) Department for completing the construction and rehabilitation of 1,129 roads in 75 days while saving Rs11 billion, and directed the department to ensure lane marking on all highways across Punjab. Chairing a meeting to review the department’s ongoing development projects, here on Tuesday, the chief minister also approved the establishment of six modern service areas along …
CM lauds C&W for completing 1,129 roads in 75 days
LAHORE, Jul 07 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has praised the Communication and Works (C&W) Department for completing the construction and rehabilitation of 1,129 roads in 75 days while
saving Rs11 billion, and directed the department to ensure lane marking on all highways across Punjab.
Chairing a meeting to review the department’s ongoing development projects, here on Tuesday,
the chief minister also approved the establishment of six modern service areas along the Lahore
Ring Road, which were expected to become operational by December this year. According to the
briefing, the new facilities were projected to generate an annual revenue of Rs500 million.
The meeting was informed that the Punjab government had completed 1,129 roads spanning
1,795 kilometers within 75 days at a cost of Rs30 billion by carrying out construction and
rehabilitation work round the clock in three shifts. Officials said the accelerated execution
of the projects resulted in savings of Rs11bn.
The chief minister appreciated the performance of C&W Department for completing the projects
within the stipulated period and directed that lane markings on all provincial highways should be
ensured without exception.
The meeting also approved a plan for the beautification of Lahore Ring Road and restoration
of its Northern Loop. A separate plan for beautifying entry and exit points of roads across Punjab
was presented.
Officials briefed the meeting that around 32,000 kilometers of roads had been completed over
the past two and a half years, while 6,000 kilometers were constructed or rehabilitated between
April and July this year.
Progress under the “Sohne Pind Sohniyan Rahwan” programme for rural road infrastructure was
also reviewed.
The meeting was informed that Rs125bn had been allocated collectively for the Chief Minister’s
Initiative, local roads and projects nearing completion, while utilization of 99 per cent of development
funds in the road sector had been ensured.
According to the briefing, the Local Roads Programme completed 1,567 schemes covering 3,400
kilometers at a cost of Rs79 billion.
Officials further informed the meeting that the 93.5-kilometer Multan-Vehari dual carriageway,
the 24-kilometer Faisalabad-Chiniot dual carriageway, and the 13-kilometer Tourism Highway
dual carriageway had been completed.
The meeting was told that 86 schemes under Phase-I of the Road Restoration Programme
had reached 77pc completion, while work on 41 schemes under Phase-II had reached 31pc
completion. All 124 roads damaged by floods had also been fully restored.
The briefing further stated that 42 new road construction schemes had been included in the new
financial programme. It said Rs17 billion had been earmarked for local roads and Rs17.23 billion
for the Chief Minister’s Initiative, while 907 schemes, including Faisalabad-Chiniot Phase-II, had
been approved under the public-private partnership model.
Officials said Rs14 billion would be spent on completing road projects left unfinished by previous
governments due to shortage of funds, while Rs51 billion had been approved for the construction
of new roads across the province.
During the meeting, C&W Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar gave a detailed briefing on the department’s development portfolio. The department also presented a commemorative souvenir to the chief minister,
who directed officials to submit a final timeline for the completion of all under-construction roads
across Punjab.
