CM opens Safe City Project

LAHORE

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the first phase of Safe City Project has completed in a record period of time for providing a crime-free and peaceful atmosphere to the citizens and an amount of Rs120 million is being spent for this purpose.

The chief minister inaugurated Punjab Safe City Project, a unique project of its kind in Pakistan and the biggest project in Asia, at Qurban Lines, here Tuesday. After inaugurating Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre of Punjab Safe Cities Authority, the chief minister said the first phase of Safe City Project had completed in a record period of time. He said the Punjab government started Safe City Project for providing a crime-free and peaceful atmosphere to the citizens and an amount of Rs120 million was being spent for this purpose. He said a huge screen had been installed in Command & Control Centre under this project which is the biggest screen of Asia. He said the Punjab government was working on Safe City Project with the collaboration of a leading Chinese company Huawei and it was`the first project of its kind in Pakistan.

Shahbaz Sharif expressed hope that the Chinese company would operate this project as an example of hard work, honesty and transparency. He said that Punjab is the first province where this kind of project has been inaugurated whereas federal government started Safe City Project in Islamabad six years ago which has now been completed. He said the project of the Punjab government was four times bigger than the Islamabad project. 

Federal Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan increased the number of cameras of Islamabad Safe City Project from 1,500 to 2,000 whereas 8,000 cameras were being installed in Lahore under the project.

He said that youth recruited for the project were witness to the fact that they had been selected on merit and it was hoped that they would spare no effort for the success of this project. He said monitoring of different areas was being carried out on the screens set up at Command & Control Centre and a vigilant eye would be kept on criminal elements. He said that in case of any incident of crime, an alarm would ring which would alert the institution concerned. 

He announced that Safe City Project would also be started in six other cities of Punjab, including Multan, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Sargodha and would be completed by the end of 2017.  Shahbaz Sharif said that Chinese Consul General Yu Boren had extended commendable cooperation and the Chinese company had completed the first phase of the project in a professional manner. 

Shahbaz Sharif thanked Chinese Consul General Yu Boren, Chief Executive Officer Huawei Pakistan, Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Members of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Chief Secretary, Inspector General Police, Chairman Planning & Development, Secretary Home, MD Punjab Safe City Authority, Chief Operating Officer Punjab Safe City Authority and officials concerned for completion of the first phase of the project.

Chinese Consul General Yu Boren said that due to personal efforts taken by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the project had been implemented expeditiously and it was a milestone in Pak-China friendship. 

Chief Executive Officer Huawei Company said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was extending full support for this project due to which its first phase had been completed. Inspector General Police Mushtaq Sukhera said that demands of security had changed with the passage of time; therefore, Punjab police was being equipped with modern technology.

Earlier, the chief minister inaugurated the most modern Integrated Command, Control and Communication Center of Punjab Safe City Authority.