Locals prioritised for jobs in Ravi Riverfront project

Phase-I of mega development venture named Sapphire Bay

LAHORE:

Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Imran Amin has said that in the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development (RRFUD) project, locals of the area would be given preference in job opportunities.

Sharing details of the urban development project, the CEO added that education, health and other social facilities would be shaped in the new city, as per the international standards.

Phase-I of the mega development venture, worth billions of dollars, had been named Sapphire Bay.

While mega cities become a magnet for talent and investment, those developed without any planning, were facing tremendous challenges in the shape of worsening situation including pollution, widening income gaps among their populations and deterioration of their infrastructure.

The provincial capital is no exception. There were a lot of fields and sectors which are being looked into for the first time, and solutions were being searched for various gigantic problems facing the metropolis for the past few years.

The RRFUD project would reportedly help provide longevity to both old Lahore city and its residents.

Read Ravi project not to use agricultural land: LHC

According to a World Bank report, around 50 per cent of the global population today lives in urban areas, which would be increased by 1.5 times, to six billion by 2045.

RUDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Imran Amin said that mega city administrators and planners must move quickly to plan for the tremendous and rapid growth, while providing the basic infrastructure, social services and affordable housing to the residents of these expanding cities.

RUDA Executive Director (Commercial & Marketing) Kashif Qureshi said that under the RUDA Act 2020, the body would facilitate quality execution of the project, as per international standards.

He added, “The project has been designed on the lines of Singapore’s urban planning.”

Mehmood Khalid Qamar, an environmentalist, said that the mega project was a welcoming sign and would give a new life to the city.

He stated, “The historic city of Lahore has suffered from the climate crisis and maladministration for over two decades.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2021.