New Lahore to rise from remains of Ravi River

Ambitious project includes 12 specialised cities, lake, barrages

LAHORE:

An area of 103,271 acres will be acquired for the landmark Ravi River Front Urban Development (RRFUD) Project that will benefit the communities and investors while helping improve the environment of the city, Punjab Minister for Housing and Urban Development Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed has said.

Like the mythological phoenix, the dying Ravi river is set to rise from its remains and give birth to a new Lahore on the largest 46 kilometres riverfront to compete with any modern city in the world. The project will uplift the dying Ravi river, almost reduced to a stream by the unlawful construction of dams by the Indian government.

The construction of a 46km-long lake from Ravi siphon to Hudiara, a complex network of roads and 12 high-tech cities will be the hallmark of the project.

Provincial Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering (HUD&PHE) Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed described it as a novel project that would benefit the communities and the investors, and help improve the environment of the city. “The RRFUD project is reflection of Prime Minister’s vision to build a new Pakistan,” he said.

He said the Ravi Riverfront would be developed in three phases. In the first phase, the lake covering 46km, six wastewater treatment plants, three barrages and an urban forest would be developed during three years.

The minister said a total land area of 103,271 acres would be acquired for the project that would also include wastewater and surface water treatment plants, network of roads and 12 new cities, including Medical City, Residential City, Downtown, Commercial Hub, Urban Farms and Miscellaneous Use City.

“An Innovation City spanning over 1,370 acres will be developed in the second phase while the third phase will see the completion of Knowledge City, Sports City and Eco City on a land area of 14,000 acres,” the minister said.

He said the development of the lake would purge the Ravi of domestic and industrial waste, and provide 271 billion litres of water, adding that the wastewater treatment plants would treat 2.4 billion litres that would irrigate 75,000 acres of land.

He said the surface water treatment plant would decrease dependency of the Lahorites on the groundwater by 50% as 2.4 billion litres of safe drinking water would be produced from the canal water after treatment.

Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said the project would be completed with an estimated cost of Rs2 trillion with financing to be met though public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures (JVs), private finance initiative (PFI), multilateral loan and grants, budgetary grants and developer financing.

“We have envisaged a city of future dreams. It will meet the water needs of Lahore till 2045,” the minister said. “With a length of 46km and a width of 3,280 feet surrounded by a 33 feet high wall, it will look like a gift of nature for the people of Lahore.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2020.