ISLAMABAD:
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) wants to make Pak-China Friendship Centre a self-sustaining project by arranging cultural shows and exhibitions.
When asked about inability of the civic body to run the project, CDA Chairman Engineer Farkhand Iqbal said that the CDA would work on a comprehensive plan and would take all out measures to make it operational and financially sound. He was visiting the 12-acre, three-storey complex on Monday.
The ground floor has been allocated for offices, a theatre, and a cafeteria, while the first floor consists of study rooms, library, committee rooms and an exhibition hall. The top floor is a residential compound with 57 rooms. The Rs3 billion centre, a gift from the Chinese government as a symbol of the deep bond between the two countries, also has parking for 600 vehicles.
After the devolution of Ministry of Culture to the provinces, the civic body was reluctant to take possession of the newly constructed centre because it has no prior experience of running such a project, a CDA official told The Express Tribune.
However, the official said that in the presence of Pakistan National Council of the Arts and Lok Virsa it is difficult for the CDA to arrange a different set of interesting cultural shows and exhibitions.
He added, “I do not see any other option but to give it to a non-government-organisation (NGO) or some other party to make it function better.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ