Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated the Rs1.45 billion Kashmir Chowk underpass in Islamabad, completed in a record 27 days according to officials.
The prime minister said the project was part of preparations for next year's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and other international gatherings in the capital. He said the contract was awarded through the government's e-PADS electronic procurement system at about 2.5 percent below the original estimate, and credited Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and the Capital Development Authority for timely delivery.
The underpass is expected to ease traffic among Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Naqvi said the work was monitored by a third party and the CDA, with all 6,340 planned trees planted and existing trees protected or relocated. Two monuments reflecting Kashmir's identity were also built at the intersection.