Rs2b business park uplift works to be completed: minister

LAHORE: Minister for Industry and Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal visited Punjab Industrial Estates Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) city office in Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate Kot Lakhpat here on Monday.

PIEDMC CEO Ali Moazzam Syed gave a briefing on progress of the Chunian Aqua Business Park project. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said Chief Minister Usman Buzdar would soon inaugurate the development works of Chunian Aqua Business Park. As per plan, 103 plots will be constructed in the park. While commercial area, labour colony, grid station, cold storage, feed mill, research centres, packages centres and fish market will also be established in the Aqua Business Park. Development works of Rs2 billion will be completed under the management of PIEDMC by December this year.

The minister said the previous government had abandoned the plan to set up an industrial estate in Chunian due to high groundwater level but millions of rupees were wasted from the state exchequer in the name of development works. The present government decided to convert Chunian State into an aqua business park keeping in view the ground realities of said state and saving public money, he said and added that large-scale export of prawns, shrimp and tilapia fish at Chunian Aqua Business Park can generate valuable foreign exchange.

He directed PIEDMC to expedite the work to ensure timely completion of the project. PIEDMC CEO Ali Moazzam Syed said a request has been made to the federal government for an uninterrupted supply of electricity.

200 hand pumps: Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab Dr Salman Shah chaired a meeting of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority (PAPA) on Monday and discussed its ongoing projects across the province. The meeting was attended by PAPA Chief Executive Officer Syed Zahid Aziz and gave a detailed briefing to the Adviser to CM about ongoing clean water projects in Punjab. He said plans were afoot to provide clean and healthy water in rural Punjab and 200 hand pumps were being installed in South Punjab in collaboration with UNICEF. CEO PAPA said that by March this year, 7.6 million people will be able to benefit from the ongoing clean water projects. Plans were drawn up keeping in view the 110 million population of Punjab. The best business plan for Punjab Water Authority has been formulated according to which repair and maintenance work of all projects will also be done, he added.