Rawalpindi Ring Road: route, interchanges, opening date and what it means for property

The Rawalpindi Ring Road runs 38.3 km from Baanth on GT Road (N-5) to Thalian on the M-2 motorway, with five interchanges. As of 20 October 2026 the road itself is built, but it is not open to traffic: the toll plazas and electronic tolling are unfinished. Officials told Dawn they expect it to open in the first or second week of November 2026. It missed its sixth deadline, 14 August 2026.

RDA, the Rawalpindi Development Authority, is the executing agency and FWO (Frontier Works Organisation) is the contractor. Every fact below comes from RDA’s own housing-scheme lists, Dawn, The Express Tribune and named news sites, with dates. We found no project page on rda.gop.pk and couldn’t find the PC-I (project plan) online.

What is the Rawalpindi Ring Road route?

It is a six-lane, controlled-access toll road with a 120 km/h design speed and a 90-metre right of way. It starts at Baanth on GT Road and ends at the Thalian interchange on the M-2, crossing Chakbeli Khan Road, Adiala Road and Chakri Road on the way.

The route also has two river bridges, 12 bridges over nullahs and roads, a railway bridge near Baanth and 11 overpasses (Dawn, October 2026). In 2023 Dawn reported about 36 villages in the survey area, eight of them in Gujar Khan tehsil and the rest in Rawalpindi tehsil.

This is the second plan for the road. The PTI government’s plan was a 68 km road from Rawat to Sangjani. Work stopped after an alleged financial scam, and the 38.3 km Baanth to Thalian alignment replaced it. Shehbaz Sharif laid its foundation stone at Rawat on 8 August 2023.

Which interchanges are on the Rawalpindi Ring Road?

There are five. The Express Tribune and Zameen name them after the roads they serve: Baanth, Chakbeli Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road and Thalian. Dawn uses village names: Baanth, Maira Mohra, Khasala, Kolian Parr and Thalian. No source we found says which village name goes with which road, so we don’t pair them.

As of August 2026, the Baanth, Chakbeli Khan, Adiala and Chakri interchanges were complete (Express Tribune). Thalian is not finished. PakWheels reported the road is already physically connected to the motorway. Dawn reported on 20 October 2026 that work on Thalian will start after the road opens to traffic.

Rawalpindi Ring Road current status: when will it open?

The road is complete and fenced from Baanth to Thalian, but the toll plazas are not. Booths are being installed at Baanth and Thalian. The Punjab Ring Road Authority still has to install the electronic toll system, which the deputy project director said would take two more weeks (Dawn, 20 October 2026).

In September 2026 the Express Tribune also reported that a section had started sinking at the Baanth end after heavy rain. It gave no measurement, and the October reports don’t mention it.

How much does the Rawalpindi Ring Road cost?

We follow the latest approved figure: Rs50.4bn, in the third revised PC-I that the Punjab Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) approved in October 2026. That excludes land: 8,992 kanals were bought for Rs6.7bn, which an official said would take the total to Rs57bn.

The Express Tribune’s Rs53.5bn was an estimate. The PDWP approved less, allowing a 38% price rise against the 61% the executing agency claimed, and asked that the project be finished within Rs50bn.

How much is the Rawalpindi Ring Road toll?

No toll rates have been announced as of 21 October 2026. The Punjab Ring Road Authority will collect tolls from public transport, goods vehicles and private cars. An official told Dawn the Lahore Ring Road rate will “likely” apply, so treat any toll figure you see before notification as a guess.

What is Rawalpindi Ring Road phase 2?

RDA paid a Nespak and ACE joint venture Rs52 million to study a second phase beyond Thalian. The report, submitted in June 2026, recommends widening the existing M-2 motorway instead of building a new road (Dawn, July 2026).

Figures are from the Express Tribune (August 2026). Dawn describes the phase 2 corridor as Thalian to Sangjani, the Tribune as Thalian to Hakla. Phase 2 is not approved as of October 2026.

What does the Ring Road mean for property near Chakri, Adiala and Chakbeli Khan roads?

A new road doesn’t make a housing scheme legal. RDA’s own lists show that most schemes on the three roads the Ring Road crosses are on its illegal list. We counted every RDA entry whose location names one of these roads, on 21 October 2026:

The approved ones, as RDA writes them:

• Chakri Road: Al Haram City Phase 1 (Kolian Par), Qurtaba City (approved by the TMA over 7,148 kanal, its extension illegal), Rabia Residency (314.37 kanal), Rehbar Colony (final sanction over 175.04 kanal).
• Adiala Road: Banker City (marked “court case”), Safari Valley (approved by the TMA over 6,199.81 kanal, revised plan under process), PIA Officers Cooperative Housing Society.
• Chakbeli Khan Road: Forest Town (“approved by PHATA”).

Status can differ by phase. Al Haram City Phase 1 is approved, but “Al-Haram City Phase I (Part II)” in Kolian Par is on the illegal list. Near the Thalian end, RDA lists Blue World City, Faisal Town Phase II, Airport Residencia and “PIA Enclave, near thalian interchange” as illegal, and no approved scheme gives Thalian as its location. At the Baanth end, all three schemes listed in Banth are illegal.

Chakri Road is long, and RDA’s lists give a mouza and a road, not a distance. A scheme “on Chakri Road” may be nowhere near the interchange.

For the full method and the Islamabad side, see our guide to the best housing society in Islamabad. Our scored reviews cover schemes on this side of the city, including Blue World City, Capital Smart City and Faisal Town, each on the same published method.

More guides: Best housing society in Islamabad · Lahore–Sahiwal motorway · Blue World City review