Goldmine on a million acres : Zardari for setting up ‘Zulfikarabad’

[LRE]

By Razzak Abro

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to identify a million acres of land near the coast in Thatta district for the development of 'Zulfikarabad', in the memory of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

State Minster for Information Samsam Ali Bukhari made this announcement at a media briefing after the president's meeting at Bilawal House. "Zulfikarabad will be the first city to be created after partition. The proposed city would have the latest infrastructure and facilities like Dubai, Karachi and Islamabad," Bukhari said, adding the land that would be used for the city's development would be unproductive and barren.

"The president has directed that land identification be completed within weeks so that he could take the proposal to Chinese investors during his next visit to China," he said.

Answering a question as to how the government would ensure that the proposed city would not be like the fateful Gwadar port project and the locals are given their due right, Bukhari said that the locals would get employment opportunities due to the development of the new city. He added that according to the constitution, a person could live and earn in any part of the country.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah were present at the meeting along with federal and provincial ministers, senior government officials and some architects from the private sector.

According to an official handout from Bilawal House, the meeting was told that once the land is identified, Expressions of Interest (EoI) would be invited from international consultants for giving the basic design concept of the new proposed city. The handout stated that the new city project was visualised by Zardari sometime back as the influx of national and international migrants in Karachi and Hyderabad has put tremendous pressure on the existing infrastructure and called for building a new city. As per the handout, according to the president, the whole concept is based on the philosophy of converting useless state land into a gold mine. The names of Jhimpir and Jhirk in Thatta district are on the cards as they offered a suitable location for the new city but it is for the provincial government to determine a suitable location, the handout stated.

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