Entertainment opportunities: Rawalpindi’s 40 historic buildings to get makeover

PHA drafts project to upgrade city’s major parks with help from private partners

RAWALPINDI: Unlike the federal capital — which only came into existence after the creation of Pakistan, Rawalpindi is a very old city and can still point to some buildings which are nearly a century old, if not older.

In this regard, the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) of Rawalpindi has prepared a project, in collaboration with a private institution, to restore and beautify around 40 historic buildings and all intersections in the city.

For this purpose, a list of the ancient buildings included in the project has been drafted while pictures and data for these buildings have been gathered.



Opting for an out-of-the-box approach, the PHA intends to seek creative inputs from fine arts students of the National College of Arts-Rawalpindi Chapter, the Fatima Jinnah Women University and Pir Mehar Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University on how to beautify these buildings.

The ideas will be obtained in an official competition and a jury will decide the winning idea. The winner will be given a prize while their idea will be used to beautify the ancient buildings.

Apart from renovating these buildings, the buildings will be maintained on a regular basis.

PHA Chairman Raja Asif Mehmood told Daily Express that ancient buildings of the city were a part of its historic heritage which was falling prey to wear and tear.

“The protection of this heritage is our responsibility,” Mehmood said, adding that some multinational companies, private organisations and financial institutions have expressed interest in helping the government in this regard.



Moreover, Mehmood said that they were working on a number of projects to protect the city’s heritage and to beautify it.

PHA to upgrade parks

The PHA has prepared a mega project to upgrade all major parks of the city as per international standards and to install the latest facilities there.

The parks on the PHA’s radar include the Murree -PIA Park, Double Road Park along with the Lohi Bher Park.

Under the project, the PHA plans to build cinema halls, botanical gardens, water and safari parks, zip rides and other modern rides and trampolines at these parks.

Moreover, fast food chains will be invited to open their outlets at these parks.

Mehmood told the Daily Express that the cinema and food outlets will be set up in the Double Road Park in Shamsabad locality in the same way they had been set up in Jinnah Park.

“We are introducing new rides for children of middle-class families,” Mehmood said, adding that the PHA is also taking control of the Kid’s World located adjacent to the park and its facilities will be upgraded.

Moreover, a zip-line will be installed in Murree’s PIA Park which will allow enthusiasts to ‘fly’ through the air.

In a nod to the recent determination of the federal capital’s limits, Mehmood said that the Lohi Bher Park was built on land owned by the Punjab government. In this regard, they had dispatched a letter to seek possession of the land. The PHA chief said that the park spread over 90 acres and that they intend to build a water park and a safari park on international standards there.

Moreover, they aim to install rides for children there including bumper cars, horse rides, along with an arcade. These rides, he said, will be installed with assistance from private institutions who will also help maintain high standards of facilities and cleanliness.

In return, he said that the proceeds will be split between the private partner and the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2018.