ISLAMABAD: The historic Shahi Bagh in Lahore, which includes sites such as the tomb of Mughal emperor Jahangir and his wife Noor Jehan, is to be developed into major theme park.

According to a Planning Commission document, the park will showcase Mughal heritage, the area’s natural beauty and modern entertainment at a cost of Rs8.3 billion.

The site for the proposed park spans nearly 878 acres along the north bank of River Ravi. Five major heritage buildings — the mausoleums of Jahangir, Noor Jahan and her brother Asif Khan, the Akbari Sarai and the bara dari of Kamran Mirza — are included in the plan. The Shahdara forest, the north bank of the Ravi and a large vacant space to the east of Jahangir’s tomb will also be developed under the project.

Federal, Punjab govts to share cost of work on 878-acre site in Lahore

The Punjab government is also expected to acquire an additional 501 acres of private land for the project.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is taking keen interest in the project and in a recent meeting, while reviewing the Ravi Riverfront Development Project, he decided that Shahi Bagh would be developed in the first phase of that project.

The cost of the project will be shared equally between the federal and the Punjab governments.

Consequently, the Lahore Development Authority has submitted the project to the Planning Commission for approval. The Shahi Bagh project will be completed in three phases.

According to the document submitted to the Planning Commission, the project would aim to amalgamate cultural and modern recreational facilities, with the heritage sites showcased at one end and modern forms of entertainment to be located at the other.

The project is designed to have a virtual capacity of 20 million people. The planners forecast that attendance at the park in the first year is expected to grow at a rate of two per cent. This rate of attendance could improve drastically, however, if the security situation in Pakistan improves and foreign tourism expands.

The project envisions the restoration of heritage buildings; creation of an artificial lake; construction of a theme park, water channels with facilities for water sports; a hotel and restaurants; an aquarium, a cineplex, forest lodges, lake huts, dancing fountains and other attractions.

Planners expect that the project will trigger development in the region and accelerate Lahore’s economic growth. The provision of state-of-the-art recreational facilities will provide much-needed relief to the populous, frustrated by terrorism and instability.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2014