Daily Times

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, visited the Kalma Chowk Remodeling CBD Punjab Boulevard project site in Lahore. The project, which is being carried out by Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA), also known as Central Business District Punjab (CBD Punjab), aims to remodel the Kalma Chowk area, including the underpass, road networks, water supply and drainage lines. The Prime Minister was briefed about the project by CEO CBD Punjab, Imran Amin and other senior officials.

The project, which started on December 4, 2022, was originally scheduled to be completed on June 2, 2023, with a contract price of Rs 4.2 Billion However, the project will be completed one week ahead of schedule, with no revision of PC1 and well within the allocated budgets and estimates. The contractor for the project is NLC Engineers, and the consultant was NESPAK.

The Kalma Underpass, which has a total length of 925m, has been remodeled, along with the Ali Zeb underpass, with a barrel length of 377 meters, and the CBD Quaid District, with a barrel length of 280 meters. The road networks, totaling 4.98km, have also been rehabilitated. The main Kalma Underpass and allied at-grade roads Ali Zaib Road with Service Lanes are now functional for traffic.

During his visit, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the development pace of the project and lauded the contractor. He also ordered the hiring of a third-party technical validation consultant for the Kalma Chowk remodeling project and also gave the directive to complete the upgradation of Walton Road in two months

In addition, the entire Kalma underpass was opened for traffic on February 24, 2023, upon the instruction of the Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab, Syed Mohsin Naqvi. All the water supply, sewerage and drainage lines, and two wells, falling under the project area, have been upgraded. A water retention tank with wells at Saint Mary’s Park has also been constructed. The underpasses’ width, Ali Zeb Road width, Main Boulevard width, and Saint Mary’s Road width have been expanded for the easy flow of ongoing traffic.

Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Commissioner Lahore Division, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, COO CBD Punjab Brigadier (R) Mansoor Janjua, Directorate heads of CBD Punjab, MD Nespak Dr. Tahir Masood. Brigadier Umar Farooqi PD NLC, officials of NLC, NESPAK, and senior government officials were present during the visit.