Safe City Project would be replicated in Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala next year. PHOTO: NNI
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday that rural development, provision of potable water and overcoming the energy shortfall were the government’s chief priorities.
Sharif made the remarks during his eight-hour-long tour of Faisalabad. The chief minister reviewed several development projects and attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Punjab Bio-Energy Institute and a girls’ hostel for 1,000 students at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad during his tour.
He said the Safe City Project would be replicated in Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala next year. Sharif said model cattle markets were being established across the province to eliminate the contractor mafia. The chief minister viewed the Canal Expressway project from the air and inspected progress on the Jhaal Chowk Underpass and Flyover on the occasion. Sharif said the Canal Expressway project had great economic significance for the people of the city. He said Rs6 billon would be spent on the initiative. Sharif said the three-lane expressway would stretch 25 kilometres. The chief minister said underpasses and flyovers would be constructed at important locations along the route of the expressway. He said five tehsils of Faisalabad would be linked to a motorway following the project’s completion. Sharif said the project was a fitting gift for the people of the city. He ordered officers to complete the project as quickly as possible. A briefing regarding the project was also given to the chief minister on the occasion.
A number of lawmakers from Faisalabad also called on Sharif during his visit. Sharif told them that all resources were being used to secure citizens’ lives and properties.
Sharif said rural development, provision of potable water and overcoming the energy shortfall were the government’s chief priorities while speaking at the ground-breaking of the institute and hostel at the UAF. He said agriculture constituted the backbone of the national economy. Sharif said the nation had been blessed with a plenty of resources including fertile land, all the four seasons and ingenious minds.
He said poverty alleviation was inextricably linked to rural development. The chief minister said the government had initiated the farm-to-market roads project to remedy farmers’ problems. He said citizens had been facing severe water problems. The chief minister said the problem was particularly acute in rural areas. He said this had resulted in a widespread proliferation of diseases. The chief minister said work on the provision of potable water in these areas was underway and would be completed in three years.
Sharif praised China for initiating the $45 billon Pakistan-China Economic Corridor project. He said the project would help raise standards of living and open new avenues of trading and employment. Sharif urged students to learn Chinese. He said $20 billion was being invested in the power sector to overcome the energy shortfall.
The chief minister said development projects costing Rs10 billion had been initiated across Faisalabad to enable the provision of state-of-the-art facilities to citizens at their doorstep. He said the projects included the construction of the Canal Expressway, two underpasses, a hospital for children and the Haseeb Shahid Hospital.
Sharif praised the UAF for being counted among the 100 best universities in the world. He expressed hope that the varsity would be counted among the world’s 50 best universities in the following years. UAF Vice Chancellor Iqrar Ahmad Khan said the government had allocated record funds for the varsity in the last five years. He praised the initiatives taken by the government in the education, rural development and agriculture sectors.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2015.
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