ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority’s T-Chowk flyover is poised for a possible 15 per cent cost escalation, mirroring a similar increase recently approved for the Shaheen Chowk underpass, sources told Infra News.
The 1.1-kilometre T-Chowk flyover a Rs1.4 billion scheme situated at the junction of G.T. Road and the Islamabad Expressway has reached nearly 90 per cent physical progress, with final asphalt works under way. Designed to streamline traffic arriving from Lahore, the project is being executed by a joint venture of two construction firms.
Officials familiar with the matter said additional works emerging during execution are likely to push the project cost upward by 15 per cent. Under PPRA rules, contractors may be allowed a permissible scope enhancement of up to 15 per cent without retendering. However, back-to-back increases on two major projects have drawn scrutiny inside the civic agency.
“Technically, the rules allow it, but it will raise eyebrows if both ongoing projects end up with identical increases,” an official remarked, noting that the CDA had only recently expanded the scope of the Rs1.3 billion Shaheen Chowk underpass after its design required a significant extension in the underpass barrel.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had inaugurated work on the T-Chowk flyover on September 12 with a 150-day completion target. Officials say the scheme is running ahead of schedule and is expected to open to traffic this month, well before its February 18, 2026 contractual deadline.
Despite internal claims that the scope increase has already been processed, CDA spokesperson Shahid Kiani maintained that the project remains within its approved financial limits for now. “It’s too early to say the project is exceeding cost. All activities and expenditures are currently aligned with the sanctioned scope and estimates,” he said, adding that overall progress stands above 85 per cent.
Officials, however, concede that repeated midstream design revisions point to gaps in planning. “Ideally, projects should be completed within their original cost. But when scope changes emerge at this scale, it naturally raises questions over why those elements were not included at the design stage,” an insider said.
Both the T-Chowk flyover and Shaheen Chowk underpass are inching towards completion, but the parallel cost pressures are likely to sharpen focus on CDA’s project management practices in the weeks ahead.
