RAWALPINDI – The National Highway Authority (NHA) has technically qualified four firms for a Rs4.08 billion project to improve and rehabilitate the G.T. Road from T-Chowk to Banth Moor, the eastern end of the Rawalpindi Ring Road.
Five firms and joint ventures participated in the bidding process, but one was technically disqualified for failing to meet the required working-capital criterion, leaving four bidders eligible for further consideration.
The project envisages upgrading the existing two-lane highway into a four-lane dual carriageway, along with the construction of service roads on both sides of the route.
The upgraded road will provide a direct connection between the improved Islamabad Expressway at T-Chowk and Banth Moor, linking the G.T. Road corridor with the eastern end of the Rawalpindi Ring Road.
According to sources, the firms and joint ventures that participated in the bidding included M/s 7 Stars and Co. JV with M/s Fast Track Construction; M/s Muhammad Asad Constructors JV with M/s Highway Construction; M/s NPI Construction and Engineering; M/s Umer Jan and Company; and M/s MATRACON Pakistan (Private) Limited.
M/s 7 Stars and Co. JV with M/s Fast Track Construction was technically disqualified on the grounds of insufficient working capital.
Sources said an earlier plan envisaged the Lahore-Rawalpindi Motorway terminating at T-Chowk, but the proposed connection had subsequently been extended to Banth Moor. The G.T. Road upgrade is expected to improve connectivity between Islamabad and Rawalpindi and facilitate movement between the capital and surrounding areas.
The project is also expected to improve access to housing societies, commercial developments and planned communities along the G.T. Road, Rawat, Chak Beli Road and adjoining southern corridors.
Once completed, the upgraded corridor could help address traffic bottlenecks affecting both commuters and commercial vehicles travelling towards and away from Islamabad from the directions of Lahore, Jhelum and Gujar Khan.
The project forms part of broader road infrastructure improvements around the capital and Rawalpindi. In recent years, the NHA has invested billions of rupees in Pothwar Avenue, which extends from Ayub National Park to T-Chowk and has improved traffic movement along the corridor.
Connectivity in the area has also been strengthened through the construction of the Katcheri Chowk Interchange and underpasses on Mall Road. The latest G.T. Road project is expected to further strengthen links between the Islamabad Expressway, Rawalpindi’s southern and eastern approaches and the Rawalpindi Ring Road once the rehabilitation and widening works are completed.
