Rawalpindi Ring Road Project Economic Corridor (RRPEC), a project to provide a political and economic boost to Pakistan…!

The most needed and the most awaited Ring Road to connect twin cities (Rawalpindi & Islamabad) is facing scams, inquiries, and irregularities. In 2020, this project was again launched and since then this project is the center of attention of people of norms like business tycoons, real estate giants, bureaucrats, and political parties, as Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) is going to be a harbinger of a new era of prosperity and development. It is a joint venture of the Provincial and National Government of Punjab.

WHAT IS RING ROAD?      

A ring road, also known as a circular road, is a series of linked roads encircling a country, city, or town. In European countries, the term ‘Ring Road’ is used for metropolitan circumferential routes. i.e. Amsterdam Ring.

In Pakistan, over time, roads were introduced, commonly named as ‘Ring Road’ that encircles city or town to provide ease of accessibility. The ring roads in Pakistan are ‘Lahore Ring Road’, ‘Peshawer Ring Road’, ‘Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road’. Another Ring Road is under development in twin cities named Rawalpindi Ring Road. This ring road was proposed in the early ’90s but the proposed plan isn’t yet presentable.

RAWALPINDI RING ROAD – HISTORY

Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRPEC) was the most anticipated project of Rawalpindi & Islamabad, collectively known as twin cities, which was initiated by RDA (Rawalpindi Development Authority) in 1991 but couldn’t be executed by the government and concerned authorities due to certain political and economical circumstances.

At the time of the proposal, the Government Of Punjab was considering this scheme as a corridor to boost the regional and economic conditions for Pakistan, so the concerned authorities allotted a budget of almost 6.7 billion for land acquisition. Also, the purpose of designing and developing this road was to cater to the heavy flow of traffic in between twin cities and to provide ease of access to residential societies located in that region.

A fresh feasibility report regarding RRR was conducted in 2008, in which the reporters proposed to construct a road from Channi Sher to Fateh Jang that covers a length of almost 75Km. Later on, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) & Capital Development Authority (CDA) proposed some changes to the report and demanded to reduce the length of the road to approximately 54km. The sole purpose of making these changes is to reduce the cost of the overall project.

DEVELOPMENT STATUS AND ALLOTTED BUDGET

In March 2021, the tender for this project is floated in the market and again it was launched to give a new look to twin cities, and solve traffic congestion issues, and boost the economic activities in this region. At that time, Tariq Murtaza, Chairman RDA, announced that this road will be 65.5 Km long and it’ll have 6 lanes from each side of the motorway. These main roads will be accompanied by service roads as well, and the main roads will work out as signal-free corridors.

As per the news, Punjab’s Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has approved funds of almost 50 billion rupees to construct Rawalpindi Ring Road Project Economic Corridor (RRPEC) under a private-public partnership. Right now, the construction of this amazing venture is about to begin, and no doubt that’ll be provided a shift to promote Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), wholesale markets, and will ease traffic congestion by supporting ease of access to twin cities.

The development of this scheme will be completed within 2 years almost. The construction of this splendid venture will be carried out in three phases. As per the news, RRR holds the special attention of the people and the government because it is going to be a splendid addition to the country’s infrastructure.

RAWALPINDI RING ROAD –DEVELOPERS

As Rawalpindi Ring Road is almost 65Km long, so from this whole length 10Km portions from the Sangjani interchange to Margalla Road will be developed by CDA (Capital Development Authority). The rest of the portion will be developed by RDA. As far as the developers are concerned, ‘Zeek and Engineering General Consultants’ will work on this project in collaboration (most probably).

PROPOSED ALIGNMENT OF RAWALPINDI RING ROAD

The width of Ring Road will be 300 ft and as per the proposed alignment of Ring Road Rawalpindi, it moves and navigates through the outskirts of Rawalpindi & Islamabad, and avoids the urban settlements and population.

This road will be linked with 8 different interchanges which include Rawat interchange, Adyala interchange, Chakri interchange, Radio Pakistan interchange, Islamabad International Airport interchange, Sangjani interchange, M2 motorway interchange, & Chak Beli interchange.

 The proposed Ring Road will start from (G.T Road) Rawat from Murat to Sangjani and will end up at Zero point in Islamabad. Half of the route of this road (almost 50 kilometers) will fall in the Rawalpindi region from Rawat to Thallian Interchange and the remaining area (almost 16 Km) will lie in Islamabad.

While looping back to Rawalpindi, the RRR route will cover areas of Islamabad like Margalla Road, F-series sectors, Kohsar, Bhara Kahu, Kallar Sayedan, Shah Allah Ditta, and Siri Saral.

RAWALPINDI RING ROAD MAP

The Map of the ‘Rawalpindi Ring Road’ shows that it’ll complete a loop from Rawat as starting point, and will end up at zero point Islamabad. This loop is going to connect different locations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This project is linked with CPEC and will connect CPEC Route with FatehJang Road.

This connectivity can be more clear on the map. The virtual image of the map of RRR is attached below.

RAWALPINDI RING ROAD ROAD ACCESSIBILITY

Right now, as per the new change in the plan and map of Ring Road Rawalpindi, the road will initiate from Rawat (near Radio Pakistan Tower) and will pass through Adiyala Road, Chak Beli, Murat, and Chakri Road. This route will be linked with M-2 Motorway at Thalian Interchange. Obviously, this proposed Ring Road is going to benefit certain societies which include DHA Phase 2, Bharia Town, and particularly DHA Phase 3. From this route, people will reach Rawat through Motorway in just a few minutes.

This Rawalpindi Ring Road will have some major links to the major roads and landmarks like:

• The first root link of RRR will be on Chak Beli Roads. This area hasn’t any residential or commercial real estate venture, but still, the prices of land will rise.
• The second major link will be allotted to Adiyala Road, and people will enjoy the ease of access with no traffic congestion to Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The societies that lie under this link are Bharia Phase 3 & Rudn Enclave.
• The third major link will be offered to Chakri Road. Here, the real estate projects are going to enjoy maximum benefit because this road has no direct access to twin cities. The host of societies that lie under this link are Blue World City, Top City, Capital Smart City, Mumtaz City, Al-Haram City, etc.
• As per the proposed map of Ring Road Rawalpindi, the fourth major link will be at Thalian Interchange. This Interchange will provide access to M-2 Motorway and the societies that are going to enjoy benefits are  Foreign Office Employees Cooperative Housing Scheme, Kohsar View, Sector I-16 Islamabad, Sector I-15 and I-14, and CBR town.
• Further, the links aren’t yet defined by authorities but as per real estate insights, this Road will touch the back of New International Islamabad Airport and will navigate to Fateh Jhang Road. Here Nova City Islamabad is one of the societies that will be skyrocketing in terms of land value.

FEATURES OF RAWALPINDI RING ROAD

Some of the salient features of this amazing venture are as follows:

• 10 overhead bridges
• 300 ft wide
• 6 Flyovers
• Will connect with educational cities, health centers, fuel stations, and community centers
• 3 satellite zones
• Fruit and vegetable market in Rawalpindi will be shifted to the proximity of Ring Road
• Will deal with the traffic congestion by providing and diverting access to 50,000 vehicles of twin cities.

WHY IS RAWALPINDI RING ROAD AN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR…?

Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) is considered an economic corridor because it is going to boost the economic, political, and real estate activities across Pakistan. Apart from diverting the congested flow of traffic of twin cities, this road is going to link different regions around Rawalpindi and Islamabad it is proving direct access to Islamabad-Lahore Motorway.

As mentioned above, this Ring road is going to have six-lane service roads, that are going to boost the real estate economy, by adding up the value to the real estate projects that lie in the proximity of Rawalpindi Ring Road. No doubt, the development of RRR is going to benefit the real estate market with slike height in prices.

This Road is going to take the route from the M-1 motorway and will reach to International Islamabad Airport, by looping with the eastern side of the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) route and then heading towards the Margalla road while passing through the vicinity of Sangjani Interchange. This long route is going to benefit multiple norms of people in terms of economy and accessibility.

PROS & CONS OF RAWALPINDI RING ROAD:

PROS

Ring Roads are one of those country’s infrastructure that gives benefits in multiple ways. Here are some of the Pros of the Rawalpindi Ring Road Project Economic Corridor (RRPEC)

• Rawalpindi Ring Road will be beneficial to divert the heavy flow of traffic from the downtown of Rawalpindi.
• Will provide easy and direct access to M-2 Motorway.
• Ease of access to the new International Islamabad Airport.
• Will benefit the real estate market of Rawalpindi & Islamabad by providing easy accessibility to the real estate projects in its vicinity.
• RRR is going to provide new opportunities to the constructors and builders because multiple housing societies will be built there in near future.
• InterCity High Traffic Vehicle will navigate through this road instead of the Islamabad Expressway
• Tourists and visitors will have easy access to the residential sectors and tourist locations of Islamabad via Margalla Road directly from the G.T road.
• Different commercial hubs will be designed alongside Rawalpindi Ring Road, which will boost the financial conditions of small investors, businessmen, and the country as a whole.

LIMITATIONS:

There are no transparent regarding the development of Rawalpindi Ring Road, still, there are some disadvantages which are as follows:

* Rawalpindi Ring Road requires huge capital investments.

* Construction of RRR will result in land acquisition from locals (locals are compensated in terms of money for their land, but somehow illegal land grabbing cases are also reported in the jurisdiction of RRR).

* Ring roads need the acceptance of private-sector as well.

* Some sorts of environmental impacts are associated with the construction of Ring Road Rawalpindi. Also, it’ll lead to new doors of projects in the urban core Of Pakistan.

* Once the Rawalpindi Ring Road will be developed, it’ll stand out as a medium of high profitability for unintended consequences.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES NEAR RAWALPINDI RING ROAD

The real estate market is one of those areas which are going to earn huge benefits from the Ring Road Rawalpindi, and this is going to give a boost to the prices of real estate projects that lie in the vicinity of Ring Road. Let’s have a look at the societies that lie in the proximity of Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) and going to stand out as potential real estate projects.

• DHA Islamabad, Phase 3
• Capital Smart City
• Nova City Islamabad
• Rudn Enclave Rawalpindi
• Blue World City
• Bharia Town Phase 8
• Top City Islamabad

DHA ISLAMABAD, PHASE 3

Defense Housing Authority (DHA) is one of the most sought and preferable housing societies of twin cities, and it is one of the top-notch real estate projects of Islamabad that are offering high-end living amenities. This project is already in demand since its launch, but the completion of Rawalpindi Ring Road is going to add value to this society, specifically in Phase 3 of DHA.

DHA Phase 3 is the top investment opportunity from RRR because of its beautiful location. This phase has one entrance from Rawat (near main G.T Road) and the other entrance is opposite Giga Mall.

Phase 3, Defense Housing Authority (DHA) is a gated community that has a modern infrastructure, commercial areas, waste management system, green belts, mosques, and all basic living necessities.

After the launch of RRR, the rates of this area has increased significantly. The development work in this society is under process, still, the prices have reached heights drastically, so investing in this project is going to be fruitful.

CAPITAL SMART CITY

Capital smart city Islamabad, the first smart city of Pakistan is a top-notch project, that is one of the best of its kind. This real estate project is located near New International Islamabad Airport and the M2 motorway.

In terms of amenities and facilities, it is an eco-friendly and self-sustainable society that is synchronizing a smart lifestyle with technology. Habib Rafique Pvt. Ltd. & Future Developments Holdings Pvt Ltd. are the owners of this project. Its legal status is quite clear because this project has been approved by RDA.

Islamabad Capital Smart City is the apple of the eye of investors because of its smart features and premium location. It is alongside the eastern route of CPEC and fortunately, this project is linked with the M-2 Motorway and Rawalpindi Ring Road that has strengthened the status of Capital Smart City as a top investment opportunity.

The Capital Smart City is an outstanding real estate project that has top-notch commercial and residential plots, which are delivering high returns on investments, and after the development of the proposed ring road, this society is going to be a world-class smart city in Pakistan.

NOVA CITY ISLAMABAD

Nova City Islamabad is an emerging society located right next to the CPEC route and Fateh Jhang Road. This amazing real estate venture is linked with Rawalpindi Ring Road and this is one of the reasons this landmark is high in demand.

This society is designed to provide central access to Islamabad and Rawalpindi with all luxurious facilities. Nova City developers are designing and developing this society and they are known for high-quality infrastructure, so people are trusting this real estate project. The Nova City NOC is yet to be achieved by the owners, but due to Rawalpindi Ring Road and CPEC route, this project is the center of attention of investors and residents.

As Nova City is located at a prime location near International Islamabad Airport and has the main entrance linked with Rawalpindi Ring Road, so the value of this project has multiplied, and in near future, it’s going to rise more and more. Another best thing about Nova City is that the development charges are included in the plot prices so early investment in this scheme will stand out as a fruitful decision.

RUDN ENCLAVE RAWALPINDI

Rudn Enclave Rawalpindi is one of the emerging and mega real estate projects near Adiyala Road. The extraordinary location of this project makes it worth investing in because it is linked with all the major areas of twin cities. The good thing about this project is that its main entrance is located right opposite to famous Adiyala Interchange.

As per Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), the alignment of the proposed Rawalpindi Ring Road is planned through this real estate project, and due to this reason, this project has gained fame within no time.

Apart from location, Rudn Enclave Rawalpindi is offering modern infrastructure, advanced features, and high development standards at affordable rates, so this landmark is the center of attention of people nowadays.

The development and construction work in this project has started so far that it attracted investors across twin cities and as a result, a hype in rates is observed. After the launch of RRR, this project is an appealing option to invest in because it is going to deliver guaranteed profits and easy accessibility to investors and residents.

BLUE WORLD CITY

Blue World City Islamabad is one of those real estate projects that are going to cash the benefit of underdeveloped Rawalpindi Ring Road because its main entrance is right beside the Rawalpindi Ring Road, so the residents will have direct and easy access to major areas of twin cities.

In the list of top societies of twin cities, Blue World City Islamabad is the one that stands out bright. This is the project of Blue Group of Companies, a big name in the real estate sector of Pakistan, so people have shown a huge trust in this project. In terms of location, this project has a premium location right next to Chakri Road, owns direct access from Lahore-Islamabad Motorway, and comes under the alignment of Rawalpindi Ring Road.

The Blue World City NOC is allotted to this real estate project by RDA and its legal status is quite satisfactory. Although, Blue Wolrd City has faced some controversies regarding its legal status still it is one of the top-selling real estate projects.

Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) is a beneficial endeavor for Blue World City because this thing has increased the land value. Already people have gained massive profits from this amazing real estate project and after the completion of Rawalpindi Ring Road, the profit potential will be more appealing.

BAHRIA TOWN PHASE 8 – Extension

Bharia Town Rawalpindi is a top-rated real estate project of Pakistan that needs no introduction. This society consists of multiple phases and its authorities have delivered international living standards to the people of Pakistan.

Phase 8 is most probably the last land area that will be considered as the last block of Bharia town. Right now, the authorities have acquired some land as an extension of Phase 8, and this area lies near Rawalpindi Ring Road.

Right now, Phase 8 is one of the cheapest investment options as compared to other phases of this splendid real estate venture, but after the completion of Ring Road, its value is going to rise for sure.

Although Phase 8 isn’t going to be directly linked with RRR through Adiyala Interchange this Ring Road will be accessible, and no doubt this ease of access is going to benefit the investors in terms of ROI (Returns On Investments).

TOP CITY ISLAMABAD

The Top City Islamabad was launched in 2012 to provide a futuristic lifestyle to the people of Pakistan. Since its launch, the project has reached heights of success and growing rapidly.

This housing venture is located close to New International Islamabad Airport and is easily accessible through Kashmir Highway. Top City is a legal housing scheme and its NOC is approved by RDA.

The Top City 1 is the neighboring society of the first smart city of Pakistan, the Capital Smart City, and boasts the features of a smart city like smart meters, public internet connectivity, fiber optics, e-tag, etc. just because of these future proof features, this project was the head of this time.

Top City Islamabad is one of those societies that come under the alignment of Rawalpindi Ring Road, and due to this reason, the plot pricing of this society touched the sky in no time. It is quite obvious that after the completion of the RRR project, Top City Islamabad will be one of the promising real estate projects of Pakitan.

This housing scheme is a great chance for investors of twin cities because the land pricing in this area is going to rise exceptionally after the completion of development work and the RRR project.

The fact is quite clear that Rawalpindi Ring Road is going to have a major impact on the prices of land along its sides or in its vicinity. The return on investments of the land that lies in the proximity of RRR will be high. At the end of mid-2023, after the completion of Ring Road, the prices will be doubled.