The much-awaited and highly-anticipated Shaheen Chowk Underpass will go functional in the upcoming week and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will likely inaugurate this infrastructural masterpiece. Sources told Pakistan Observer here Tuesday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has agreed to inaugurate the underpass and this is going to be the second inauguration of a mega project within a period of one month as earlier on Dec 18 Prime Minister Sharif inaugurated 1.1-km T-Chowk Flyover.
The inauguration of the Shaheen Chowk Underpass will ease the traffic burden on the Islamabad roads, particularly during the school, college aand university hours as a number of schools, colleges and universities are located close to this busy crossing. Besides a large number of office workers and government employees at the Federal Secretariat, PM House, Aiwan-e-Sadr, Diplomatic Enclave, FBR, Supreme Court of Pakistan and other departments use this Shaheen Chowk in order to reach their destination on time.
The underpass is being constructed at the junction of 9th Avenue and Khyaban-i-Iqbal (commonly known as Margalla Road), where traffic congestion was a routine issue. The foundation stone of this project was laid by the Prime Minister on October 24 and, as per the PC-I, it is supposed to be completed in April. However, the project is being executed at a fast pace and is now heading towards completion. This project also saw a 15pc cost increase.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday visited the site along with the Chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Mohammad Ali Randhawa and senior officials of the CDA and Ministry of Interior.
During the visit, Interior Minister conducted a detailed inspection of the ongoing construction activity and received a comprehensive briefing from the proect director and the Chairman of the CDA. Minister Naqvi expressed satisfaction with the pace of work and emphasized that once opened, the underpass would significantly improve traffic flow on the city’s main arteries and help reduce congestion across Islamabad. He stressed that no compromise on construction quality would be tolerated and directed the authorities to ensure timely completion.
According to the CDA’s briefing, the structural work of the underpass has already been completed, while road surfacing and finishing tasks are underway. The minister also instructed the CDA to introduce modern landscaping and plantations around this centrally located project to enhance its visual appeal. The interior minister directed that the project should be completed within the stipulated time frame and that the pace of work should be maintained at all costs. He said there should be no compromise on the quality of construction.
