Future of 10th Avenue uncertain as govt yet to release funds from PSDP

Islamabad: Future of the 10th Avenue, an important Principal Road to link Colonel Sher Khan Shaheed Road (IJ Principal Road) with Srinagar Road is uncertain as the federal government is yet to release a single penny from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the fiscal year 2022-2023.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the 10th Avenue was performed towards the end of the year 2021 and it had already missed the first deadline of September 30, this year.

The CDA sources said that only 24 per cent of work on the Rs10 billion project had been completed while there has been no progress on the construction work in the last four months due to the non-availability of funds since July, this year.

This is one of the few projects which the Federal Government had committed to fund from the PSDP. However, in the last little over two years, Rs2.5 billion has been released.

The Federal Government for the ongoing financial year had allocated Rs400 million but so far no amount had been released putting the project in jeopardy. "Even if the whole amount for the current year is released, there will be just five to six percent progress on the project," an official associated with the project.

The CDA source said if the present situation continues, it was not certain as to when the project would be completed. "This is an important project which will shorten the distance between I J Principal Road to Srinagar making it possible for commuters to reach Islamabad Airport, Motorway, and various sectors of Islamabad in reduced time," an official said.

In the first phase of the project, the National Logistic Cell (NLC), the contractors of 10th Avenue, will construct five kilometres long road with 14 bridges and flyovers, six underpasses, two-lane flexible pavements on each side, one lane shoulder, three culverts and two overhead bridges for pedestrian.9 The road will pass through sectors I-9, I-10, H-9, and H-10 and will benefit residents of these localities. The project, once complete will also reduce the burden of traffic on 9th Avenue and will also be beneficial for students of the International Islamic University and other educational institutions located in sector H-10.

In the second phase, the road will be extended up to the Khyaban-e-Iqbal in front of sectors E-9 and E-10. The contract for the second phase, however, was not awarded. An official of CDA, however, said that work on the Islamabad Expressway is going on slowly due to a shortage of funds. “Now we have revised our deadline for expansion of Islamabad Expressway till T-Chowk on G T Road to end of March, next year,” the official said.