$8b investment in Ravi City project on the cards

A board has been constituted and work on the project would start in January, Prime Minister was informed

ISLAMABAD:

Chinese companies and a global investment consortium are keen to invest $8 billion in the Ravi City project, Prime Minister Imran Khan was informed on Thursday.

Imran chaired the meeting of the working group the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) and the Pakistan Island Development Authority (PIDA), and received briefings from the officials concerned on the progress on the projects.

He was informed that the Chinese government and companies were keen to invest $3 billion in the Ravi City project in Lahore and that the investment did not include any loans. Besides, the ANGCC – a global investment consortium, had also offered to invest $5 billion in the project on partnership basis.

The prime minister was also informed that in order to further speed up the progress on the Ravi City project, a board had been constituted and work on the project would start in January. Imran stressed that Ravi City project would address the increasing problems of Lahore.

About PIDA, the prime minister was informed that the environmental and master plan studies would start in January. Imran expressed satisfaction over the progress made on the Bundle Islands and stressed that all stakeholders would be taken on board for the success of the project.

Meanwhile, the prime minister chaired the weekly meeting the National Coordinating Committee for Housing, Construction and Development where the chief secretaries gave a detailed briefing on the projects approved so far in the provinces.

On the occasion, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman informed the prime minister about the registration of housing projects, saying that the construction sector has already been given the status of an industry and other tax concessions were available. The petroleum secretary briefed the meeting on the modalities of gas supply to housing projects.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)