MULTAN, Aug 9: South Punjab is the major recipient of funds allocated for the improvement of tourism infrastructure under the annual development programme for the fiscal year 2005-6.

This was claimed by the tourism secretary Hasan Nawaz Tarar while talking to newsmen at a seminar organized by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab in collaboration with the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU).

The secretary said the provincial government had allocated Rs75 million for the development of infrastructure viz-a-viz tourism. Of the allocation, Rs70 million would be spent on south Punjab to set up tourism facilitation centres in Bahawalpur and Sakhi Sarwar in Dera Ghazi Khan.

He said Fort Munro was being developed as a hill station to accommodate the people of southern Punjab, and a students camping site was also being developed there.

Earlier, speaking in the seminar, the secretary underlined the importance of the private sector to promote tourism by means of providing facilities to tourists at the sites of interest.

“The private sector can construct lodges at Fort Munro or any other hill station to facilitate tourists on a commercial basis,” he said.

He said a separate full-fledged administrative department of tourism had been set up in the province, while its wing of resort development department was functioning efficiently to develop the New Murree. He said the TDCP was a self-sustained department meeting its expenses through its own earnings.

TDCP MD Irfan Ali said apart from multi-purpose tourism complexes in Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, the corporation had also completed a feasibility study for the installation of a cable car and chairlift system at the Fort Munro hill station.

He appreciated the BZU for its proposed programmes to initiate courses in hotel management and hospitality, and added that the TDCP would like to collaborate with the university in this connection.

BZU vice-chancellor Dr Mohammad Naseer Khan said the university was well aware of its responsibilities with regard to tourism promotion.