LAHORE, Nov 19: The federal government has made a committee to submit a report about finance and fundraising required for the execution of the River Ravi Development Project and the completion of the Lahore Ring Road.

The committee consists of the federal finance secretary, Punjab Planning and Development Department chairman, Punjab finance secretary, Lahore Ring Road Authority chairperson and Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general.

“You are required to submit description of the projects (River Ravi Development Zone and Lahore Ring Road) by including the total cost, financing details, financing gap to be bridged by the proposed instruments and status of the project (approval etc) and detail of the assets with estimated value and legal ownership to be used for fundraising,” a letter by the finance ministry to the committee members reads.

Officials say as the River Ravi Development Project is underway and will be connected with Ring Road on the direction of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the federal government is interested in helping the Punjab government complete the project.

The LDA may not be able to provide the funding details and estimates to the federal government at this stage.

“The Ring Road project is at its initial stage,” a senior LDA official told Dawn on Tuesday. He said the LDA administration had yet to hire a consultant to prepare feasibility of the project.

The LDA has drawn up a shortlist of seven consultants, including a Korean firm, and of them, one will be hired to assist the government in launching residential and commercial zones along the rivers, the official said.

He said the consultants would be selected on the basis of their expression of interests and brief feasibility and technical and financial proposals.

Also, the LDA will hire professionals for technical positions of the project. These professionals will monitor the project’s execution.