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Tag: Mohsin Naqvi

  • Kashmir Chowk underpass opens after just 27 days

    Kashmir Chowk underpass opens after just 27 days

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the Kashmir Chowk underpass on Thursday and praised Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for completing the project in a record 27 days.

    Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the prime minister said he had never witnessed a mega-project completed at such speed during his entire political career. He said the underpass, its connecting roads and extensive landscaping, including the planting of trees and flowers, had been completed in just 27 days.

    Sharif said another significant feature of the project was that its contract had been awarded through a transparent process using the electronic Public Procurement system, known as e-PAD. He said the project had also been completed at a cost lower than the initial estimate.

    The prime minister said the project was not just a 500-metre underpass, but also a network of roads spanning four kilometres around it. The work is expected to ease traffic flow at one of the capital’s busiest junctions and improve the journey for thousands of commuters every day.

    Sharif said more development projects were being planned ahead of next year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which Pakistan is preparing to host. He asked Mohsin Naqvi to further beautify Islamabad with flowers and greenery.

    Mr Mohsin Naqvi, please adorn Islamabad with flowers; the fragrance of these blooms will delight both the residents of Islamabad and the visiting guests, the prime minister said at the ceremony.

    Naqvi said the government would also seek help from international experts to establish a Safari Park in the city. He added that One Constitution Avenue would be turned into a five-star hotel very soon.

    The speedy completion of the underpass has drawn attention as a rare example of a public project finishing ahead of the usual pace. Officials say the use of electronic procurement and close monitoring helped keep the work on schedule and within budget.

    For daily commuters, the value of the project lies in the roads around the underpass as much as in the structure itself. Four kilometres of connecting roads were rebuilt and landscaped as part of the work, which officials say should cut waiting times at the junction and make the flow of traffic smoother in both directions.

    The project also fits into a wider effort to prepare the capital for next year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. The prime minister linked the underpass to that programme of works, saying more projects were being planned, and he pressed for the city to be made greener and more attractive for residents and visiting delegations alike.

  • One Constitution victims paid in 2 days, hotel plan set

    One Constitution victims paid in 2 days, hotel plan set

    Victims of One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad will receive their compensation claims within two days, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has said, as the government moved on two fronts over the troubled building: relief for those affected, and a new future for the structure itself.

    Iqbal said the federal government would ensure compensation for the victims, and that a committee formed by the federal cabinet had taken up the matter. He said he would supervise the committee himself, with the chairman of the Capital Development Authority providing a survey of the affected people so that payments can be made swiftly.

    He also announced action against officials held responsible. Three officers have been dismissed and nine suspended, Iqbal said, while a criminal case has been referred to the Federal Investigation Agency, with an investigation now under way. The steps signal that the government intends to pair compensation with accountability.

    Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited One Constitution Avenue and chaired a meeting at the Capital Development Authority, where he announced that the building would be converted into a five-star hotel. He directed the CDA chairman, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, to remove obstacles to the conversion and to submit a plan for the project.

    During the visit, the CDA chairman briefed the meeting on progress so far. Naqvi also raised compensation for flat owners during the meeting, underlining that the residents caught up in the building’s troubles remain at the centre of the government’s response.

    The two announcements, from two different ministers and forums, address different sides of the same long-running matter. Iqbal’s statement focuses on the victims, the committee, the two-day payment pledge and the disciplinary and criminal proceedings. Naqvi’s visit focuses on what happens to the building next, with the hotel conversion presented as a way to put the site to new use.

    For the affected flat owners, the immediate question is whether the two-day pledge is met in practice. The committee’s survey of affected people will be central to that, since payments can only be processed once the list of claimants is settled. Residents and observers will be watching the coming days closely for evidence that the money is reaching those entitled to it.

    The hotel plan, meanwhile, raises its own questions about timelines, financing and the legal steps still required before conversion work can begin. Naqvi’s direction to the CDA chairman to prepare a plan suggests those details are still to be worked out, even as the headline decision has now been announced.

    Together, the announcements mark a significant moment for a building that has been a source of dispute and distress for its residents. Compensation within days, action against officials, a criminal investigation and a new plan for the site all point to an effort to close one chapter and open another, though the test will lie in delivery rather than declaration.

  • Naqvi inspects Kashmir underpass built in record 27 days

    Naqvi inspects Kashmir underpass built in record 27 days

    Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi has visited the site of the Kashmir Underpass project at Kashmir Chowk in Islamabad, where he reviewed the construction work under way and inspected the progress made so far. The visit, reported on 4 November, came as the project reached its final stage, with the underpass ready to be opened to traffic.

    During the visit, the minister was accompanied by Capital Development Authority Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa, the chief commissioner of Islamabad and other officials. Together, they went over the work completed at the site and looked at what still remained to be done before the underpass could be brought into regular use.

    Naqvi directed the project team to complete the remaining work at the earliest. His message was clear: with the main construction finished, no time should be lost in carrying out the final tasks so that the underpass can open without further delay. The instruction reflects the pace at which the project has been pursued from the outset, and the attention now being paid to its completion.

    According to the report, the underpass was completed in a record 27 days. That short construction period is the standout feature of the project, setting it apart from infrastructure works that often take far longer to finish. The speed of the work has been presented as a key achievement, and the minister’s visit served as a final check on a project delivered within that unusually tight timeframe.

    The underpass was expected to open to traffic the following day, on 5 November. For people who travel through Kashmir Chowk, the opening marks the point at which the project moves from a construction site to a working part of the city’s road network. The final inspection therefore carried real practical importance, as any outstanding work had to be identified and finished before vehicles began using the route.

    Visits of this kind are a familiar part of how major city projects are completed, with senior officials reviewing progress on the ground rather than relying only on written updates. In this case, the presence of the CDA chairman and the chief commissioner alongside the minister underlined that the project involved more than one part of the city’s administration, and that its final stage was being watched at the highest level.

    The minister’s direction to finish the remaining work at the earliest leaves little doubt about the priority attached to the project. With the underpass built in 27 days and its opening expected the next day, the focus now shifts from construction to completion, and from completion to the day-to-day use of a new underpass at one of Islamabad’s well-known junctions.