RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has fixed April 30 as the new deadline for the completion of the Katchery Chowk remodelling project, directing that the busy intersection be opened to traffic by that date. Under the revised schedule, structural work will be completed before Eidul Fitr, while finishing and road works will conclude by the end of April.

Punjab Highway Department Executive Engineer Qamar Ali Saqib said more than 45 percent of the project has already been completed. He confirmed that the Frontier Works Organisation is executing construction activities round the clock to meet the deadline set by the provincial government.

According to officials, guide beam and piling work at Katchery Chowk and the Jinnah Park underpass has been completed. Nearly 95 percent of the retaining wall construction is also finished, while boundary wall development is progressing at a fast pace. Road construction is expected to be completed during April, allowing full traffic flow by April 30.

The project includes two flyovers and three underpasses being built simultaneously at key locations to manage traffic exceeding 250,000 vehicles daily. A four lane flyover between The Mall and Rashid Minhas Road is under construction at a cost of Rs5.974 billion. An underpass connecting Old Airport Road with Saddar will facilitate nearly 197,000 vehicles daily.

Another flyover and underpass project at Jinnah Park is being built at a cost of Rs4.672 billion to manage over 142,000 vehicles per day. A separate two lane underpass from Iftikhar Janjua Road to Katchery Chowk costing Rs2.688 billion will accommodate more than 146,000 vehicles daily.

Officials said beautification and plantation work will begin next month with support from the Parks and Horticulture Authority. Separately, preparations are underway to relocate electricity pylons on Peshawar Road for three new underpasses, with assurances that trees will be relocated rather than cut to preserve the city’s green cover.