SIALKOT City News

My hands are clean in Nandipur power project: Asif
Says ready to face any inquiry; work on Sialkot-Lahore Motorway to begin in October
From Our Correspondent
SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Water and Power and Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved the 90km Sialkot-Lahore Motorway project and an international standard University of Engineering and Technology in Sialkot.
Addressing the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here on Saturday, he said that the motorway would start somewhere between Sambrial and Uggoki in Sialkot and would link Kala Shah Kaku near Lahore. He said that work on the project would begin in October this year and the project would be completed in two years. In future, the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway would be further extended to Kharian, he added. He opined that the project would not only considerably reduce the travel time between Lahore and Sialkot, but it would also help the local exporters in terms of smooth and quick shipments of their export goods. He said that a technology university would soon be established in Sialkot to cater to the needs of local industries.
SCCI president Fazal Jilani and vice-president Malik Nasser, MNA Ch Armughan Subhani, MPA Ch Tariq Subhani, MPA Ch Muhammad Ikram, Maj (retd) Mansoor, Asim Shafiq Sulehria, Naeem Anwar Qureshi, Kh Masood Akhtar, Zahid Latif Malik, Ejaz A Khokhar and others were also present.
Agencies add: Federal Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the NHA had short-listed only two companies – the FWO and a foreign company - for allotting the contract of construction of Sialkot-Lahore Motorway. He said that the government was working for resolving problems of the business community. He said that the federal government had allocated Rs 22 billion for an early clearance of refunds claims related to the country’s leather, sports goods and surgical industries.
Later, talking to newsmen at the SCCI, the minister said that the issue of Nandipur Power Plant would be resolved amicably in the next couple of days. He made it clear that the actual cost of Nandipur project was only Rs 58 billion, not Rs 84 or 88 billion as being discussed in different talk shows. He said that there was a three-month delay in the completion of the project and there were some technical flaws in it. Khawaja Asif said that his hands were clean in the Nandipur power project and he was ready to face any inquiry in this regard. He said that the plant would be switched over to gas next year and it would generate 525 megawatt electricity.
Meanwhile, the minister inaugurated a two-day exhibition for “Women by Women” at the Government College for Women University organised by the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Speaking on the occasion, he said that exhibitions and fairs were the main source of promoting business. He lauded the efforts of the SCCI for organising mega events in the export-oriented city and hub of cottage industry of the country. He said that Sialkot was playing an effective role in strengthening national economy through its export as well as providing employment opportunities to thousands of industrial workers.
The exhibition was covering garments and textile, fashion wear, handicrafts, home decor, sports wear, leather products, food items, jewellery items, leather accessories, pharmaceuticals and herbal products, confectioneries and cosmetics.