PMNH to add six new blocks to the facility

Muhammad Rafique says seed money worth Rs0.35 million for the plan has already been allocated

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) plans to execute a comprehensive plan for its expansion by adding six new blocks to the existing structure.

Director General PMNH Muhammad Rafique said that seed money worth Rs0.35 million for the plan has already been allocated in the current fiscal year. "PMNH is spread over five acres and initially, a total of eight blocks were to be built in the facility. However, the institute continues to operate within two blocks,” he informed.

The Director General hoped that construction on new blocks would commence this year and will be completed in the next four to five years, at a cost of Rs1.2 billion. In the next phase, provincial chapters of the National History Museum would be established at all provincial capitals, he added.  Rafique said that PMNH is comprised of four departments - Botanical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Zoological Sciences and Public Services – three of which are engaged in collection, preservation, identification and research activities pertaining to plants.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2017.