RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has finalized a Rs470 million project to beautify Raja Bazaar from Fawara Chowk to Hamilton Road (Dingi Khoi). The plan will be submitted to the Divisional Development Working Party (DDWP) for approval.
According to RMC Chief Municipal Officer Imran Ali, Rs250 million will be used to shift utility services like electricity, gas, telephone, water, and sewerage lines. The remaining Rs220 million will be spent on beautifying the area.
He said the utility companies – Iesco, SNGPL, PTCL, and Wasa – had shared their cost demands. Iesco initially asked for Rs200 million to shift underground cables on the one-kilometer stretch, but after talks, it was reduced to Rs180 million. PTCL and SNGPL will get Rs30 million each, while Wasa will receive Rs5 million for relocating water lines.
The PC-I of the project will be presented at the Commissioner’s Office, with the Rawalpindi Commissioner, who also serves as the RMC administrator, chairing the meeting. The Punjab government has already approved the start of the project.
Earlier in January, RMC had turned this section of Raja Bazaar into a vehicle-free zone and promised to begin beautification before Eidul Fitr, but work was delayed due to high costs demanded by Iesco.
The beautification project includes installation of benches, streetlights, public washrooms for men and women, tree plantations, restoration of old buildings, and new signboards. The aim is to create a family-friendly space.
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The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), RMC, and other departments will work jointly on the project. A special traffic plan and new parking areas for cars and motorcycles will also be developed. A model market with modern facilities will be built to attract tourists.
Currently, parking is available at four locations: Fawara Chowk Parking Plaza, the old RMC office plot, Namakmandi, and behind Ganjmandi police station. However, these spots are not sufficient.
Some traders expressed concerns, saying Raja Bazaar serves as a major wholesale market for Rawalpindi, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Closing the main road may affect the loading and unloading of goods.
Rawalpindi Traders Association President Shahid Ghafoor Paracha said the administration allowed traders to load and unload goods during early morning and late night. Handcarts will be permitted to carry goods from shops to the pedestrian street gates.
Meanwhile, the divisional administration has fixed June 30 as the new deadline for completing the GPO underpass on The Mall, being built at a cost of Rs4.6 billion. The delay has worsened traffic in Saddar, where Haider Road is the only alternate route.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had earlier set May 31 as the completion deadline for both the Nawaz Sharif Flyover and GPO underpass, but the work could not be completed. Her planned visit to Rawalpindi on June 2 was also postponed due to incomplete work.
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A senior Communication and Works Department official said carpeting on one side of the GPO underpass is complete, and the second side will be done by Saturday. Service road work will begin on Sunday and finish within a week. All construction, including lighting, is expected to be completed by June 30.
A drainage line has been installed to carry rainwater to the nullah near Punjsarki Chowk on Sarwar Road, which also serves as an alternative route.
Work on the Nawaz Sharif Flyover is complete and it is now open to traffic. Around 79,000 vehicles are using it daily, easing traffic on Adiala Road. Remaining work on the service roads will be completed in a week. Iesco is shifting electricity poles, but the work paused during Eid holidays.
Commissioner Rawalpindi Aamer Khattak recently visited the completed flyover and the under-construction GPO and TM Chowk underpasses.
He was briefed by officials from the Highways Department and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). He praised the timely completion of the flyover, saying it had solved a long-standing traffic problem on Adiala Road.
