LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the Central Business District (CBD) in Lahore would create wealth up to 6,000 billion PKR.
On a visit to Lahore, Prime Minister Khan criticised previous governments for putting a huge weight of financial debt on the country which eventually led the present government to take external loans.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Central Business District (CBD) ceremony in Lahore, the prime minister said that his government had been trying to negotiate this deal for the past year. The project will generate Rs 1,300 billion in its first phase.
He further added that during its first phase, the CBD project will generate income up to Rs 1,300 billion. He said that de-notifying of Walton airport will turn the adjacent areas into an economic hub. Hence, the commercial activities will rise to Rs 6,000 billion after de-notifying the airport.
PM Imran Khan also said that to stop the expansion of Lahore city, it is necessary to plan the construction of high-rise buildings. It would be difficult to manage the cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad if we failed to stop their expansion.
“The first phase [of the Central Business District] project, the federal government will earn Rs250bn from taxes,” he said.
He said that the mega project will be constructed in three phases on a 300-acre land and will be designed according to the PM’s vision for environmental protection.
“These problems were inherited by this government,” he said, adding that the government cannot solve this problem until and unless it generates wealth.
Prime also revealed that Pakistan had signed a deal related to the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which would help save the nation $300mn annually.
“When a difficult time comes upon the nation, a country has to think of out-of-the-box solutions,” he said. “Pakistan went through a decade of darkness,” he added.
“And in 10 years, Pakistan will save $3bn,” he said.
“The entire city’s sewerage is going in River Ravi,” he said. “This sewerage is going down the river. A lot of people drink water from the rivers,” he said, adding that even the water table of Lahore was declining.
Prime Minister also planted a sapling at the groundbreaking ceremony of Lahore Business District.
PM Imran Khan was on a one-day visit to Lahore.
Earlier, Punjab CM Sardar Usman Buzdar met with PM in which he briefed the PM about the provincial administrative issues and other matters. Imran Khan was also informed about the registry digitalization, local bodies system and housing society project for low-income persons. PM Khan also issued important instructions in the meeting.
