Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) appreciated the initiative of PTI government for starting the R3 project that was the dire need of the twin cities

IBRAR KHAN/DNA

ISLAMABAD:  Tariq Mehmood Murtaza, Chairman Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) said that an amount of Rs.6.2 billion has been released for land acquisition of Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project and Prime Minister Imran Khan along with Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar would soon perform the ground-breaking of this project of vital importance.

 He said that 65.5 KMs long 6 lanes R3 would change the lifestyles and set new horizons of development in the twin cities. He said that the R3 will not only reduce the traffic congestion in the twin cities, it will also provide a clean, healthy and safe environment besides making significant contributions to national development.

 He said that business hubs, industrial zones, transport terminals, wholesale markets, logistic and education hubs, health city, dry port, recreational parks and residential estates would be constructed on both sides of the R3 that would uplift the economy of the region and provide plenty of jobs. He expressed these views while addressing the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI).

Tariq Mehmood Murtaza said that the cost of the R3 project was estimated at Rs.50 billion and after the financial closure, its construction would be completed within 2-3 years. He said that the R3 project would be executed on the public-private partnership (PPP) model and stressed that the business community should actively participate in its construction to capitalize on its investment potential. Muhammad Abdullah Deputy Project Director, RDA gave a detailed presentation on R3 project to the business community.

In his welcome address, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) appreciated the initiative of PTI government for starting the R3 project that was the dire need of the twin cities. He said that multiple specialty zones could be built on both sides of the R3 project and stressed that the sitting President of ICCI should be included in the RDA Board to get the input of the private sector and address its genuine concerns for the smooth execution of R3 project on PPP mode. He said that for each SEZ, 1000 to 1500-acre minimum land should be acquired to facilitate the investors. He further said that Sec-4 must be used to acquire land on an immediate basis for SEZs that are desperately needed for jobs creation, industrial promotion and economic revival. He said that the existing 3 industrial estates in Islamabad have saturated due to which investors of this region were compelled to move to other areas and stressed that RDA in collaboration with ICCI should build a new industrial estate at a location that should be easily accessible to the investors of the twin cities. He assured that ICCI would fully cooperate with RDA for timely execution of the R3 project.

Mian Akram Farid, Chairman, Founder Group said that the government should set up new industrial estate near Islamabad International Airport and the private sector should be provided the opportunity to invest in the industrial and commercial zones of the R3 project. He said that one window facility for investors in industrial zones should be provided as many local and overseas Pakistanis were keen to invest in SEZs of R3.

Fatma Azim Senior Vice President, Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI, Khalid Javed, Zubair A. Malik, Abdul Rauf, Khalid Iqbal Malik, Mian Shaukat Masud, M. Ejaz Abbasi, Naeem Siddiqui, Tahir Ayub and others also highlighted the concerns of business community of various sectors and stressed that RDA should address them for the smooth execution of R3 project.