KARACHI, Jan 11: Corps 5 Commander Lt-Gen Tariq Waseem Ghazi said on Saturday that he would be announcing at least three recreational projects in the city in the next couple of months.

He said that these projects were the Askari park (at Old Sabzimandi), the Quaid-i-Azam park and the development of the coastal belt.

He was talking to newsmen after unveiling the master plan for the race course gardens on site. He said the development work on the 38-acre Askari park had started a few months back, but then some vested interests started creating problems. Some of them had even moved the courts, which had delayed the development work.

He said some industries, many of which did not even function now, and other structures had been established there. He said that industries had no right to be in the middle of a densely populated area. He said the concerned government department had even cancelled their leases, but they had moved the courts which was resulting in the delay.

He expressed the hoped that the matter would be resolved in a few weeks and in a couple of months he would be holding a briefing to launch the park.

He said a huge 22-acre park project was to be announced near the Mazar of the Quaid-i-Azam across the Shahrah-i-Quaideen and a park having a gymnasium would also be developed.

The third project, he said, was the development of the 18=kilometre-long coastal area recreational facilities from the Seaview Apartments to the Golf Course.

He urged philanthropists, the corporate sector and citizens to come forward and participate in the projects with their time, ideas and funds. He said there were over 600 historical and culturally important buildings in the city and efforts should be made to preserve them.