Projects in the vital sector will create job opportunities for hundreds of youths in rural areas, sources added.

The government has already exported meat to Malaysia and Iran.

Earlier, India was dominating the meat market, sources said and added that a modern meat processing plant had also been set up with the cooperation of Iran which enabled the province to export Halal meat.

They said the government had also established the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Board for promotion of livestock.

The board through model livestock farms is training farmers so that they could take care of their cattle properly and generate money for their families.

They said spade work for a livestock university being set up at    Bahawalpur had already been completed and a sum of Rs4.4 million would be spent on its construction.