Three CDA projects likely to be opened to public soon.

ISLAMABAD: The G-7 and G-8 underpass, Burma Bridge and Park Enclave Bridge are nearing completion and will likely be opened to the public in a few days, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said on Sunday.

CDA spokesperson Mazhar Hussain said the G-7 and G-8 underpass on Faisal Avenue is almost ready, as the bridge has been completed and the underpass is now being cleared.

“The only part that remains is the finishing. The project is being completed with savings to the bid cost, which was already lower than the estimate,” he said.

The underpass was supposed to be completed in May, but the project was halted for months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Burma Bridge on Lehtrar Road is also close to completion, according to the CDA.

A press release stated: “An essential for the public that was living in Zone 4 and 5, this long-overdue project was started in full swing around September last year and is being completed before time and again with savings.”

“The third project of Park Enclave Bridge is also in completion with merely a few engineering interjections remaining. This was also constructed with no extra costs,” it added.

A pedestrian bridge has been completed on Secretariat Chowk and the construction of three more at F-9 Park, on Kashmir Highway and in Blue Area in G-8, is ongoing.

The CDA is also going to begin working on three mega projects — the PWD underpass, the expansion of Korang Bridge and an interchange on Rawal Dam Chowk. The contracts for all three projects were awarded a couple of months ago, but work has yet to begin.

CDA officials said that both the Islamabad Expressway projects will be executed with funding from the federal government, which the CDA is still waiting for the first instalment of.

The Rawal Dam Chowk interchange, which the CDA is funding, has been delayed because the CDA has not gotten its environmental impact assessment (EIA) approved by the Environment Protection Agency.

CDA officials said before the EIA is approved, the agency will have to hold a public hearing, after which they will be given permission to begin the project.

Sources in the CDA said that the CDA should not have awarded the contract for the project without an approved EIA.