Safe Cities: Agreement signed for provision of surveillance equipment

Chinese company Huawei will supply cameras and other equipment for the project

LAHORE: An agreement was signed on Friday between the provincial government and Chinese company Huawei for provision of surveillance equipment for the Punjab Safe Cities project.

The first phase of the project will be completed by October. Around 8,023 cameras will be installed across the city and 800 mounted on police vehicles in a bid to modernise the system of surveillance.

Huawei will provide these cameras to the provincial government.

Safe Cities Authority Chief Operating Officer Akbar Nasir Khan and Huawei Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Meng Xiaojie signed an agreement in this regard at the ceremony on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the agreement was a milestone in modernising the police system in the province. He said the project would enhance the capability of the police to deal with emergencies and untoward situations caused by the activities of anti-social elements, thieves, dacoits and terrorists. “The Safe City Project will ensure protection of citizens and enable the government to deal with challenges like terrorism, extremism and street crime,” he said.

Sharif said the first phase of the project would be completed this year. He said a similar project had been completed by the federal government in Islamabad.

The scope of the project would be extended to other cities in the province after completion of its third phase.

Under the project, the provincial government would install security cameras, equip police vehicles with modern surveillance equipment and set up a command and control centre in the city.  Sharif said that after its implementation in Lahore, the project would be extended to Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Multan. He said implementation of the project in these cities would be ensured before the completion of his government’s five-year term in 2018.

The chief minister said that the bidding for the project was held in a transparent manner and best multinational companies were invited to participate in it. He said Huawei had offered the lowest bid, allowing the government to save up to Rs4 billion. He said the amount saved in the project would be spent on building hospitals and educational institutions.

He said law and order situation in the province would see a considerable improvement with the completion of the project.

He said the project was a splendid example of Pakistan-China friendship.

He thanked Huawei for extending full cooperation for the project.

Huawei CEO Meng Xiaojie assured the government that his company would maintain highest standards in implementation of the project. Chinese Consul General Yu Boren, Provincial Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Bilal Yasin, MNA Pervaiz Malik, Chief Minister’s Special Assistant Rana Maqbool Ahmed, the inspector general of police and the home secretary were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2016.