RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) plans some changes to the Ring Road project to add economic zones along the proposed artery to boost business and industrial activities.

RDA Chairman Arif Abbasi confirmed to Dawn that the civic agency had proposed amendments to the project.

`Work on the project has been initiated. Six firms have submitted their expressions of interest to get consultancy for the feasibility study and the selection of a firm will be made through due process soon,` he said.

He said local representatives met Naeemul Haq, the special assistant to prime minister, and apprised him of the proposal to improve the industrial and business activities in the region.

The special assistant asked the provincial government to include the proposal in the project. He said the government would also check the option and decide the matter in a month.

He said there was a need to establish economic zones and shift the main markets outside the city along the Ring Road toendrushin the urbanareas.

He said the Punjab government had allocated Rs10 million for the feasibility study and released Rs5 million. The remaining amount would be released in the next fiscal year.

He said the process to hire the consultant would be completed within a month.

`Work on the project is likely to start in 2020 and the provincial government would also allocate funds for the acquisition of land in the next fiscal year.

After the feasibility study, the RDA will make PC-I and work on land acquisition would start.

`Under initial talks with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank of China, the provincial government has agreed to procure land before the releases of a loan for the project,` he said.

The Punjab government has formed two project managing units for the project. He said the divisional commissioner would lead the land procurement unit and the RDA director general would look after the construction work.

The PML-N Punjab government had made two plans in its last two tenures.

In 2008, the PML-N government planned to construct economic zones and a train track along the Ring Road. But in 2016, it dropped the train track and economic zones idea to decrease the cost of the project.

Under the 2008 plan, the RDA was to acquire1,084 acres for construction ofthe road and 1,050 acres for the economic zones. The 75 1(ilometreroad from Chani Sher Alam to Fatehjang will have 800 feet right of way on both sides.

However, a senior official at that time had said if the earlier project was launched its cost would be more than Rs100 billion.

`So, the government decided to cut the length of the road from 75 km to 54 km and dropped the idea of economic zones and acquisition of land for right of the way,` he said.

But the PTI government is again planning to establish economic zones along the Ring Road.