RAWALPINDI, Sep 30 (APP):Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Salman Ghani on Wednesday directed the concerned departments to align the Rawalpindi Ring Road land-use plan with the city's future traffic, environmental and urban development needs. He issued the directions while chairing a meeting at the Commissioner's Office to review the Ring Road land-use Project. Heads and officers of the consultant, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and other relevant departments attended the meeting. The meeting …
Commissioner reviews Ring Road land-use plan, stresses green, sustainable development
RAWALPINDI, Sep 30 (APP):Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Salman Ghani on Wednesday directed the concerned departments to align the Rawalpindi Ring Road land-use plan with the city’s future traffic, environmental and urban development needs.
He issued the directions while chairing a meeting at the Commissioner’s Office to review the Ring Road land-use Project. Heads and officers of the consultant, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and other relevant departments attended the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the increasing traffic pressure in Rawalpindi, the Ring Road’s role in traffic management, proposed economic zones and the project’s potential to promote economic activities.
Salman said the Ring Road was important for reducing traffic pressure in busy areas, particularly Bakra Mandi, Old Vegetable Market, Gawal Mandi, Fish Market, Raja Bazaar, Pirwadhai Adda and Judicial Complex.
He said the project would help improve traffic management, divert heavy traffic away from the city and provide better travelling facilities to citizens.
The Commissioner said the Ring Road was not merely a road project but a comprehensive plan for the future urban and economic development of Rawalpindi. He said the proposed economic zones along the corridor would create opportunities for employment, business, industrial and commercial development.
The meeting was informed that various economic and urban facilities had been proposed along the northern and southern corridors at the Banth and Chakri interchanges.
The northern corridor includes inter-city bus terminals, a multi-modal transport terminal, maintenance and operation yards, financial and corporate towers, clean-tech and green industrial zones and light and medium industrial zones.
The southern corridor includes shopping malls, food-processing industrial zones, green markets, fruit and vegetable markets, truck terminals and agro-industry-related retail commercial zones.
The project also envisages facilities including electric-vehicle charging stations, hospitals, educational institutions, cinema complexes, bank squares, parking plazas, retail and mixed-use high-rise buildings.
Other proposed facilities include an expo centre, cottage industry areas, warehouses and logistics zones, light industrial zones, waste-recycling facilities, technology and green industrial zones, smart forests and sewage treatment plants.
Ghani directed the concerned departments to give special attention to green spaces around the Ring Road, noting that limited space was available for green belts within the city and that additional green areas could help mitigate vehicular pollution.
He directed that all development, transport, commercial and civic facilities associated with the project be planned in line with the master plan, traffic-management requirements and the needs of the future population.
The Commissioner also stressed the need to prioritise environment-friendly infrastructure, green areas, waste management, sewage treatment and public transport to support the development of Rawalpindi as a modern and sustainable city.
