LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the Punjab government is following the policy of balanced development so that everyone could enjoy its benefits.

He expressed these views while addressing the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the signal-free Shahkam Chowk flyover here on Tuesday. Provincial ministers Mahmood ur Rasheed, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan and Syed Hussain Jehanian Gardezi, Senator Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhary, WASA Vice Chairman Sheikh Imtiaz Mahmood, member of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Governing Body Tariq Sana Bajwa, LDA DG Ahmad Aziz and parliamentarians attended the ceremony.

On the occasion, he announced that a new general hospital will be built at a cost of Rs14 billion and a surface water treatment plant will be established at Mehmood Booti Shahdara and Shadbagh at a cost of Rs10 billion. Another surface water treatment plant was being set up at the BRB Canal, he added.

He said that improving the quality of life of the impecunious strata through the creation of opportunities is a priority agenda; he stressed and vowed that everyone will be given the right of development along with equitable access to healthcare and education facilities.

He said that the government was giving attention to providing facilities to the overcrowded areas, adding that improvement of roads' infrastructure is a priority agenda. The government has started development schemes in neglected areas of the provincial metropolis while identifying public needs, he added.

The CM maintained that the Shahkam Chowk is a central point to connect different areas of the city. However, the CM regretted that the traffic was often clogged due to a lack of space. "The flyover project valuing Rs4.23 billion will ease the movement of 125,000 vehicles daily. This project will be completed in 10 months and under this project, a 6-kilometer long Defence Road will also be dualised from Labour Colony to Multan Road along with the construction of two small bridges at the Hydiara Drain and Lahore Canal," he added.

According to him, the government has completed several projects in Lahore, including the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar underpass, entrance point at Thokar Niaz Baig, a pedestrians' bridge at Jinnah Hospital and construction of an underground water tank for rainwater. Similarly, the Miyawaki urban forests were being developed at different points in Lahore. An organised Master Plan 2050, 'Center of civilization and prosperous Lahore', was being devised under LDA's supervision to develop the provincial metropolis according to future needs.

While talking about the development performance of the PTI government, the CM said that a turbo-roundabout will be built at Shahdara Chowk to resolve traffic gridlock by raising separate passages for heavy and routine traffic. "Work on Sheranwala Gate flyover and Gulab Devi underpass projects are in progress while another underpass will be constructed at Samanabad Chowk. Moreover, three parking plazas were being built at Sheranwala Gate, Masti Gate and Ek Moriya Pul for parking of more than 1000 vehicles," he told.

"The previous government launched different projects, excluding the orange line metro train project, valuing Rs67 billion in Lahore during the third year of its tenure while the PTI government started development schemes worth Rs85 billion for Lahore in its third year," he added.

The CM asserted that the Ravi River Urban Development Project and Central Business District are game-changer initiatives to transform Lahore into a world-class city. Along with the establishment of a children health university, a mother and child block will also be completed at a cost of Rs7 billion at Ganga Ram Hospital, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

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