Islamabad is located in the Pothohar Plateau in the northern part of Pakistan, within the Islamabad Capital Territory. It is a well-organized city divided into different sectors and zones. It was ranked as a Gamma + world city in 2020. [1] The city is home to Pakistan Monument, which is built on top of a hill in Shakarparian, and the Faisal Mosque, one of the largest mosques in South Asia and the sixth -largest mosque as per area in the world. The Capital Development Authority is tasked with developing the city and its facilities.
Islamabad has seen large-scale development and infrastructure projects in the 21st century. In 2023, the most prominent projects are;
The 11 km Margalla Avenue runs along the foothills of Margalla Hills and connects Sector B-17 (Sangjani on G.T. Road) to Sector D-12 and E-11 (11th Avenue and Khayaban-e-Iqbal Road). It is a six-lane road 15m wide on each side. The project was completed at a cost of Rs1.8 billion.
Capital Development Authority prepared PC-I of the project in 2008 with a spirit to protect the green image of the Margalla Hills National Park. [2] Construction started in 2017 and the road was opened for public in 2022. It facilitates the travelers heading towards Islamabad from the northern parts of the country to reach the heart of the city within 10 minutes. It also facilitates those who have to commute daily from areas like Taxila, Wah Cantt, Hasan Abdal, Haripur to various parts of the federal capital.
Margalla Avenue will further be extended 3.5km to M-1 motorway in by the end of 2024.
Work on Bhara Kahu bypass started in late 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in August 2023. It had to be built due to ever increasing traffic and congestion. People who wanted to go towards Murree and its surrounding areas for tourism faced hours of traffic jams. Work is undergoing 24/7 at fast pace. There was an incident that a girder fell as it was unstable and 2 people lost their lives. Safety protocols were increased on site after this incident. The project completed on 14 August 2023.
The 10 km long four-lane Inter-Junction Principal Road was converted to a signal free six-lane road having two bridges (9th Avenue and Faqir Aipi Road) and one interchange (10th Avenue).
This road divides Rawalpindi and Islamabad and is mostly used by heavy vehicles. Project's cost was 4.9 Billion PKR. Work started in mid 2021, and completed in April 2023. [3]
The Islamabad International Airport was completed in 2018. It replaced the former Benazir Bhutto International Airport, which was incorporated into the Noor Khan Air Base. The new airport is located in Fateh Jang, which is 25 km west of the city. Construction of the airport project began in April 2007 and completed in May 2018. [4]
The Red Line of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is a 22.5 km (14.0 mi) BRT line that serves the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in Pakistan. It uses dedicated bus lanes for all of its route covering 24 bus stations. It was inaugurated on 4 June 2015 by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif becoming the second fully functional BRT service in Pakistan after the BRTS in Lahore. Orange Line was inaugurated in 2021 which connects Islamabad city center to Islamabad Airport. Blue and Green Lines were started in 2022 on dedicated routes by Shehbaz Sharif.
Islamabad Expressway or Faisal Avenue (named after Saudi King Faisal), is one of the main highways of Islamabad, Pakistan that connects it to Rawalpindi. It stretches from Faisal Mosque (on northern end) to Rawat (on southern end) linking to GT Road [5] with a length of about 28 kilometers. It initially had 3 lanes on each side but was later expanded to 5 lanes on each side in 2015 due to ever increasing traffic. It has many interchanges, most important ones being Jinnah Avenue, Zero Point Interchange and Faizabad Interchange, Khanna Bridge, Old Airport, Gulberg, DHA, T-Chowk. The expressway was further widened from Gulberg to Korang in 2023. Expansion from Korang to T-Chowk will complete by the end of 2024.
The residents have access to a blue line metro bus that operates on the Islamabad Expressway from Gulberg Interchange to PIMS Metro Bus Station.
Peshawar Mor is the intersection between 9th Avenue and Kashmir Highway. A cloverleaf interchange on this intersection was made in 2016 to ease traffic congestion and reduce waiting times due to traffic signals. This interchange also has a metrobus station underground. Passport Office and Sunday Market are nearby.
The Zero Point Interchange is the cluster of flyovers and roads adjacent to Zero Point on one side and Islamabad Highway on the other side. It was built by Maqbool Associates [6] at a cost of Pak.Rs 2.33 billion. The construction work was started in 2007 and was completed in December 2010. The zero point interchange was constructed in two phases. Phase 1 included the three major loops of the interchange. In Phase 2, two more loops which will connect Khayaban-e-Suhrawardy and Shakarparian were constructed.
The Centaurus is a mixed-use residential, commercial, and business purpose complex located in Blue Area of Islamabad. The complex is designed by WS Atkins PLC, whose portfolio includes the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, and the Bahrain World Trade Center in Bahrain. It is a project of the Pak Gulf Construction (Pvt) Ltd (PGCL) in Islamabad.
The ISE Towers are a recently[ when? ] completed office building in Islamabad. Islamabad Stock Exchange or ISE was the youngest of the three stock exchanges of Pakistan and is located in the capital of Pakistan. Islamabad stock exchange (ISE) was incorporated as a guarantee-limited company on 25 October 1989 in Islamabad. ISE tower is a 22-storey building, which makes it the second highest building of Islamabad after the Telecom Tower. Area covered by the building is 562,629 sq ft (52,269.9 m2), it consists of three levels of basements and ground plus 18 floors above
Telecom Tower is a 113-meter-high office building built in 2009 in the Blue Area of Islamabad. [7] It was built by Pakistan Telecommunication Trust. [8] The building consists of 24 floors plus four basement levels and includes a parking facility for 400 cars.
The World Trade Center, Islamabad project was launched in March 2007 and located in the heart of Phase-II of Defence Housing Authority, Islamabad. It is facing the G.T. Road and includes a shopping mall that has a Carrefour, along with a hotel. It opened in August 2016.
Rawalpindi Ring Road is a 39 km Ring Road on which construction started in 2024. It will start from Banth on N-5 and terminate on Thalian on M-2. It will have five interchanges. Heavy vehicles would be bound to use the Ring Road hence reducing traffic on the existing Peshawar Road. This is a greater extension of the under construction Sialkot-Rawalpindi Motorway of Pakistan. Funds were released in March 2023. Project is expected to complete in 2025.
11th Avenue had to be built because people coming to Islamabad via Margalla Avenue would have nowhere to go but enter residential sectors of D-12 and E-11. This is because land near Margalla Hills belongs to Pakistan Army and Margalla Avenue could not be extended up to Faisal Mosque. Existing roads surrounding the sectors were of 2 lanes only. A six-lane signal free Avenue starting from E-11 is being built with a major interchange at Kashmir road and IJP road. Project would complete by late-2024. 11th Avenue was renamed "Iran Avenue" in May 2024.
Construction on 10th Avenue started in 2022 and would complete by 2024. It would connect IJP Road to sector E-10 and have a great interchange at the intersection of Kashmir Highway. It would be 6-lane 8 km long avenue with 3-lane service roads on both sides. It would greatly improve Rawalpindi-Islamabad connectivity. Work on 10th Avenue is 25% complete as of May 2024.
Blue Area is the largest commercial area in Islamabad on both sides of the Jinnah Avenue. Extension of Blue Area is underway with many high-rise buildings under construction between sectors G-8 and F-8, G-9 and F-9 Park.
Canyon Views by real-estate developer Emaar was launched in May 2006. [10] Located in DHA Phase-5, it offers a luxurious villa-community spanning over an area of 100 acres (6 km2). [11]
This mixed-use development (residential, commercial, leisure, and retail) consists of three projects valued at Rs. 145 billion (US$2.4 billion). The Canyon views upon completion will include swimming pools, gymnasium, sports amenities, running track, tennis court, open spaces for picnics and barbecues, retail outlets, restaurants, schools, and a mosque. [11]
The views will include 50 communities in it, and when fully completed it will have homes for 9,000 families. Phase 1 of the project has been completed and sold out while Phase 2 is still under construction.
One Constitution Avenue project is located at the southern end of the Constitution Avenue on a 13.5-acre (55,000 sq m) site (6.75 hectares) [12] and is connected to two major roads of the city (Srinagar Highway to the northwest and Murree Road to the southwest).
The development consists of a 45-story 5-star hotel (Grand Hyatt), Serviced apartments tower (One CASA), Two 20-storied residential towers (Residences) and a shopping mall (Mall One). [12] Construction of the 20 story residential twin towers is complete. Twin towers are linked together by means of a bridge at the 20th floor, aligned with the axis of the Constitution Avenue. Other towers of the project are under construction. Other features of the project include retail and food courts, banquet and multistory carpark.
Kingdom Valley is a housing society developed & designed by Kingdom group developers. Smart city feature housing project offers Residential & commercial plots & categorized by different General & Executive Blocks. This Housing Society comes under the Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP). There are no second thoughts about the fact that this housing society project has been providing a lot more than people’s expectations.
Blue World City is a premium housing society developed by the Blue Group of Companies (BGC). Located near Chakri interchange and M2 Motorway Islamabad, it is Pakistan's first tourist city and expected to become the most advanced housing society in Pakistan. Blue World City is divided into many blocks, districts, and Enclaves including General Block, Water Front District, Legends Enclave, Awami Block, Overseas Block, Hollywood Block, and Sports Valley Block.
Among all the blocks and Enclaves, the Legends Enclave is famous for offering top-notch sports and fitness facilities including open-air gyms, cricket, football & hockey grounds, sports complex, cycling track, swimming pools, and other sports facilities [13] . The other blocks of Blue World City have their unique features and are also quite popular among the investors.
Lai Expressway would be built along the Lai Nullah in Rawalpindi. This 17 km 3-lane expressway is in planning stages since 2015. This project would improve connectivity within different areas of Rawalpindi. Encroachments will have to be removed on both sides of the river. Work might commence in 2023 and complete by 2025. It would be a 25 km 3 lane expressway with 3 interchanges.
Kohsar Tourism Expressway project is a 123 km planned expressway which will connect Rawalpindi to Murree via Kallar Syedan, Kotli Sattiyan, and Kahuta.
Project would cost PKR 4.5 billion and would be constructed in two years. The expressway will boost tourism and help open up massive investment and commercial opportunities for the region’s local and international tourist industries.
Islamabad Capital Territory is subdivided into five zones, and the development work is in progress for the following residential and commercial projects;
Consists of the Margalla Hills National Park
In 1985, Capital Development Authority declared several outlying areas of Islamabad as 'model villages' to ease the housing problem. [19] These model villages are as follows:
The Islamabad Capital Territory is the only federal territory of Pakistan that is centred around Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau and at the foot of the Margalla Hills in the northwestern area of the Punjab region. The territory shares borders with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the west and with the province of Punjab in the remaining directions. It covers an area of 906.5 square kilometres (350.0 sq mi) and according to the 2023 national census, has a population of over one million in the city proper, while over two million in the whole territory.
Islamabad is the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city with a population of over 1.2 million people and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Built as a planned city in the 1960s and established in 1967, it replaced Karachi as Pakistan's national capital.
Rawalpindi is the third-largest city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is a commercial and metropolitan city, being the fourth most populous in Pakistan. It is located near the Soan River in north-western Punjab, and is the third-largest Punjabi-speaking city in the world. Rawalpindi is situated adjacent to Pakistan's capital Islamabad, and the two are jointly known as the "twin cities" because of the social and economic links between them.
The Faisal Mosque is the national mosque of Pakistan, located in the capital city, Islamabad. It is the fifth-largest mosque in the world, the largest mosque outside the Middle East, and the largest within South Asia, located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Islamabad. It is named after the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of concrete shell and is inspired by the design of a typical Bedouin tent.
Blue Area is the central business district of Islamabad, Pakistan along the Jinnah Avenue. The area is a 2-kilometer (1.2 mi)-long corridor along Islamabad's Khayaban-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Islamabad's primary arterial road which leads up to the main government buildings. It is characterized by clean, wide roads and tall buildings among the panoramic greenery of the adjacent areas.
The Pakistan Defense Officers Housing Authority (PDOHA), Karachi, formerly Pakistan Defense Officers Cooperative Housing Society, is a residential neighborhood or a housing society located within Clifton Cantonment of Karachi. Clifton Cantonment total population including Defense Housing Authority is 305,938 per 2017 Census of Pakistan. DHA has a majority population of Muhajirs.
Model Town Humak is a suburb town of Islamabad, Pakistan started in 1984. Located in Islamabad Capital Territory on Kahuta Road, Model Town is situated on Humak village land near the Swaan River.
Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is home to numerous tourist attractions. Daman-i-Koh, Margalla Zoo, Pakistan Monument, Faisal Mosque, Shakarparian, Lok Virsa Museum and Rawal lake view point are among the top tourist attractions in Islamabad. It also acts as a stop for journeys to Murree and Northern Pakistan when travelling from Pakistani provinces of Punjab, Sindh, and sometimes even Balochistan.
Bahria Town (Private) Limited is an Islamabad-based privately owned real-estate development company which owns, develops and manages properties across Pakistan.
The transport system in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, connects it with all major cities and towns via regular trains and bus services running mostly from the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi.
The Islamabad Expressway, sometimes also referred to as Islamabad Highway, is a major north–south expressway in Islamabad, Capital Territory, Pakistan. The expressway provides quick access between the Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Punjab, connecting the national capital with the N-5 National Highway. It stretches from Zero Point Interchange with the Kashmir Highway in Islamabad to Rawat, Islamabad Capital Territory on the N-5 National Highway. The total length of the expressway is 28 kilometers (17 mi), with lanes varying from six to ten.
Ninth Avenue also known as Agha Shahi Avenue, named after Pakistani statesman Agha Shahi, is a partially signal free road located in Islamabad. It was inaugurated by the then CDA chairman Kamran Lashari on 25 February 2008.
B-17 is a sector of Islamabad, Pakistan., developed by Multi-Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS). The sector is bounded on the east by N-5 National Highway and with the M-1 motorway to the west. B-17 is a newly developing sector located in Zone II of Islamabad Capital Territory. CDA approved and issued no objection certification (NOC) to MPCHS for sector B-17 on 30 January 2008, besides NOC was issued by Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) for construction of schools in the society.
Peshawar Morr Interchange is Pakistan's biggest interchange in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is located at the intersection of Srinagar Highway and the Ninth Avenue, connecting the G and H sectors of Islamabad.
The Islamabad Capital Territory has five major types of roadways i.e. expressway(s), highway(s), avenues, khayabans and roads. The Capital Development Authority's Engineering Wing under the Ministry of Transportation maintains over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of roadways organised into various classifications which crisscross the territory. These are not to be confused with national highways, which are federal roads maintained by the National Highway Authority, Government of Pakistan.
The Defence Housing Authority, Islamabad-Rawalpindi (DHAI-R) is an affluent residential neighbourhood or a gated community located within Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area of Pakistan. The neighbourhood is divided into five parts and straddles the Punjab provincial border. This neighbourhood was primarily established for military personnel in 1992 by the Armed Forces of Pakistan Welfare Department, however, currently both civilian and military families reside there. Today, DHA, Islamabad serves as one of the twin cities' most posh residential neighbourhoods.
Sectors of Islamabad are administrative divisions of Zone I and Zone II of the Islamabad Capital Territory region. The capital territory is divided into 5 zones, of which Zone I and Zone II have been designated urban development zones.
F-8 is a sector of Islamabad. The sector is bounded by Margalla Avenue and E-8 to the north, Faisal Avenue and F-7 to the east, Jinnah Avenue and G-8 to the south, and Ninth Avenue and F-9 to the west.
The Margalla Avenue or Margalla Expressway is a 33-kilometer six-lane highway in the Margalla Hills area in the suburbs of Islamabad, Pakistan. It was planned in 1966, but work on it was stalled till 2021. The road is an alternative to the Srinagar Highway, and provides easy access of the tenth and eleventh sectors of Islamabad to the N-5 National Highway. This road is a crucial section of the larger Rawalpindi Ring Road project as it connects the town of Sangjani to the town of Barakahu.
Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed Road, previously known as the IJP Road, or the Inter-Junction Principal Road, is one of the busiest roads in the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area in Pakistan, connecting Islamabad to Rawalpindi. It also serves as a route for traffic coming from Punjab and Azad Kashmir going towards Taxila, Attock, and onwards to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is named IJ Principle Road because it is the road that was going to be between the never-built Sector J and Sector I of Islamabad.
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