Central Business District foundation-stone laid

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday laid the foundation-stone of the country’s first-ever commercial hub — Central Business District — here to ensure ease-of-doing-business.

The concept will plan activities in accordance with the market requirements and as per the unique dynamics of each district.

Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony, he said the project would touch the trading volume of Rs6,000 billion with its first phase of commercial and business hub generating activities worth Rs1,300 billion.

“With huge tenders involved, this project will witness a major take-off in a short span of time and also transform Lahore into a modern city,” he said. Imran said the environment-friendly and urban generation project will be carried out on vertical principles with construction of high-rise buildings.

He regretted that earlier lack of planning resulted in haphazard expansion of big cities like Lahore and Karachi that became unmanageable with time.

He stressed that vertical construction was the most effective solution to manage big cities in order to accommodate maximum population.

Imran Khan said the Central Business District would ensure environment-friendly policies with its unique features of botanical gardens and green spaces.

The prime minister said he was the biggest supporter of preservation and conservation of environment and always emphasized the need for considering the environmental aspect while carrying out any project.

He pointed that the apathy of previous governments inflicted a huge damage on the environmental conditions of urban cities in particular.

Imran said for the first time, the government introduced policies to provide low-cost housing and encouraged banks to offer mortgage facility to facilitate the common man.

The Naya Pakistan Housing, he said, was a significant project for the uplift of low-income groups who struggled hard to own a residential place.

He said the government had inherited several problems, including crippling economy, but it took effective steps to ensure financial stability.

He said for six consecutive months, Pakistan's current account remained in surplus and acknowledged the contribution of overseas Pakistanis in this regard.

He lauded the efforts of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for maintaining a faster pace of development projects in the province.