by Waseem-ur-Rehman Khan

The original idea of the Lahore Ring Road (LRR), the largest project of the province, was floated about 25 years back and a number of studies were conducted in this regard. The purpose of launching this project was to provide an alternative transport route to ease the traffic burden in Lahore. It saw many changes in its design – four times in 1992, 1999, 2004, and 2007 -for protecting the interests of some favourites in the government. Perhaps, still another. However, there are still more chances of re-designing the project. The project has already seen a number of changes that resulted in the increase in the cost and delay in the execution of the project. With the passage of each passing day, the cost of the project is an additional burden on the national exchequer. The logic behind these changes in design is to increase the ratio of commission given to various personalities.
In 1991, the World Bank (WB) prepared a feasibility report on 60 kilometres Ring Road. In 1995, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) presented its Ring Road scheme. However, it was decided to include Raiwind Road and with this alteration the total length of the road increased to 75 kilometers. The feasibility of the Ring Road project was finalised in 1997. President Musharraf performed the ground-breaking of the Lahore Ring Road Project on December 22, 2004. Continue reading →