Lahore Ring Road News : Work on southern loop of Ring Road to start soon

[Salman]

LAHORE : CHIEF Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that billions of rupees have been spent on the Lahore Ring Road project to rid the people of traffic problems and to provide them with relief; therefore, the upkeep and maintenance of this big public welfare project is our joint responsibility.

He said development work on the southern loop of the Lahore Ring Road would start soon whereas a separate police force was being formed to maintain the traffic flow on the road and it would begin its work from December 25. He was presiding over a meeting of the Lahore Ring Road Authority here on Friday. The meeting also accorded approval to the budget of the Lahore Ring Authority for the year 2012-13.

Shahbaz said work on the southern loop of Lahore Ring Road would commence after dividing it into various portions. He said the project would be exemplary in terms of its quality and transparency. Directing expeditious completion of the process of acquisition of land for construction of southern loop, the CM said that toll collection system at northern loop should be computerised whereas an effective business plan should be implemented in order to generate further resources for the project. He said the setting up economic development zone was significant for promotion of financial and business activities on the ring road.

Forming a committee, under the chairman Planning & Development and consisting of secretaries of different departments, representatives of Lahore Chamber and Commerce and members of Punjab Investment Board, the CM said the committee should present a master plan for setting up economic development zone along the ring Road. He said a theme park near Jallo Park along the ring road would also be constructed which would be completely outsourced, adding that the best companies should be consulted regarding setting up the theme park.

Shahbaz Sharif said that horticulture had been promoted on the northern loop of ring road. He said the horticulture work, which had not been done so far on the remaining three loops of the project, should be immediately carried out. He further directed that weigh bridges should also be constructed for maintenance of road.

During the meeting, the CM was given detailed briefing on work at the northern loop, setting up of theme park and establishment of economic development zone.

The meeting was attended by the senior member Board of Revenue, IG Police, secretaries Finance, Forests, Planning & Development, Communication & Works, vice-chairman Punjab Investment Board, commissioner Lahore Division, DG LDA, MD Wasa and others.

sanitation: Shahbaz Sharif has said that he is highly impressed by the system of sanitation in Turkey and a similar system is being introduced in all the big cities of Punjab.

He said a system of sanitation was being introduced soon with the cooperation of Turkish companies in five big cities of the province, namely Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot.

He was talking to a representative delegation of Turkish companies which had invested in the transport and solid waste management sectors in Punjab here on Friday.

Shahbaz said that as a result of steps taken by the Punjab government, in collaboration with the Turkish companies, a marked improvement in sanitary conditions had been registered in the provincial metropolis for which the efforts of the companies and the Lahore Waste Management Company were commendable. He specially appreciated arrangements of cleanliness made in Lahore during the Eid holidays and sought recommendations within seven days for introducing modern cleanliness system in five big cities of Punjab.

The CM said Pakistan could earn a hefty foreign exchange by recycling offal of animals for which there was a need for a formal planning. He said that in many countries of the world, there was a system of recycling of animal offal instead of discarding them. He said exports could be enhanced in Pakistan by processing the offal of animals.

The chief minister urged the Turkish companies to invest in processing projects of animal offal. He further directed making short and medium term planning for producing energy from waste.

The members of the delegation included Bin Yamin of Al-Bayrak and Zafar Muhibbi and Ismat of Ozpak while Lahore Waste Management Company Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hasaan, Managing Director Wasim Ajmal and General Manager Khalid Majeed were also present.