MULTAN: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that the national consensus achieved against terrorism was an opportunity to carve out a development agenda.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Multan International Airport, Mr Sharif called upon all political parties to come up with an action plan on development and support the government for the country’s development and prosperity.

Also read: Anti-terror consensus mustn’t be lost, says PM

He said political and military leaderships were on the same page on their commitment to eliminate terrorism. The National Action Plan to root out terrorism was being implemented in a flawless manner, he added.

The prime minister said the airport, completed at a cost of over Rs9 billion, would link southern Punjab with rest of the world, boost exports from Multan and have a positive impact on economy.

The development process should remain unchanged even after change of governments, he added. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had laid the foundation of the airport in 2012 and the PML-N government had completed it with utmost seriousness because it was meant to facilitate people and boost national economy and business, he said.

Mr Sharif welcomed Mr Gilani, who was especially invited for the event, and said this was the way things should move that when a government initiated a project in public interest the next one completed it.

He visited different sections of the airport. He was briefed about the facilities available at the airport by Shujaat Azim, the Special Assistant on aviation.

The prime minister said Multan, being a major agricultural and industrial centre, would greatly benefit from a direct air linkage with the world.

He said special flights carrying mangoes from Multan would be a sweet gift to people across the world. Similarly, textiles, handicrafts and other industries would benefit from the facility.

The prime minister noted that the proposal for construction of four air bridges at Multan airport would fall short of the growing demand and said he foresaw the need for another 40 air bridges in the near future as more international flights would start their flights.

He said Multan was being connected to the rest of the country through a modern motorway network. The city would be linked to Lahore at a cost of Rs130bn and with Sukkur at Rs242bn. A development package of Rs29bn had been earmarked for the city and its adjoining areas, he added.

Mr Sharif said an amount of Rs55bn had been allocated for acquisition of land for Karachi-Lahore motorway and expressed the hope that the project would be completed by 2017.

The prime minister said it was his government’s desire to complete projects for generation of 10,000 MW during its tenure.

Published in Dawn March 10th , 2015

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