KARACHI: Arbab’s absence delays Rs600m PA hall project
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 14: The foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of a new hall on the premises of historical Sindh Assembly Building, planned for the eve of 60th Pakistan Independence Day on August 13, could not taken place because Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim was in Saudi Arabia for performing Umra.
Now the ceremony is likely to be held some time next week after consultation with the chief minister.
The proposed block, which was described by Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah as a state-of-the-art project, would be raised in the backyard of the existing historic assembly building where for the first time the “Pakistan Resolution” was adopted.
The project design was conceived and finalised after consultation with the chief minister, the speaker and Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad by Architect firm M/s Naqvi and Siddiqui Associates. The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs600 million.
The architecture of the new block will match the existing one. The new assembly hall will have capacity for 350 members with provision for further expansion in future.
The existing assembly building when inaugurated on March 4, 1942 was built to accommodate its 62 members. More seats were later added to the hall as the members’ strength increased. The seating plan was re-arranged last time in 2002 against its capacity of 114 members to accommodate 168 MPAs who returned to the present assembly.
The new block will comprise ground plus three floors. In addition to the seating capacity for 350 members in the hall, there would be provision for accommodation of 100 guests in the speakers’ gallery, 20 in the governor’s gallery, 50 in the officers’ gallery, 60 in ministers’ gallery, 1,000 in visitors’ gallery, 200 in the press gallery, and 100 in ladies gallery.
Besides, the new block would also have one chamber each for Leader of the House, Leader of the Opposition and two sitting rooms for MPAs, chambers for ministers and retiring room for women members, an auditorium, library, mosque and a cafeteria.
Superintendent Engineer of Pakistan Works Department, Asad Ali Mufti, has been appointed as director of the project, which is likely to be completed by 2009, the sources said.
