RAWALPINDI, Nov 15: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will announce a grand development package for Rawalpindi during his visit to the city after Eidul Fitr, said Minister for Local Bodies and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Basharat Raja here on Saturday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the recently constructed Pirwadhai bridge, he said the chief minister would visit the city soon after Eid and would announce a grand package for construction of a network of roads leading to the kutchi abadis and low-income areas.

He said the provincial government had released a grant of Rs80 million for remodelling and widening of Bakra Mandi Chowk, while Rs7.5 million had been released for the reconstruction of Committee Chowk under-pass.

The government would also provide grant to the cantonments for initiation of various projects, he added.

The government is interested in converting Pindi into a modern city with maximum facilities for the public, he added.

District Nazim Tariq Kiani, tehsil Nazim Hamid Nawaz, tehsil Naib Nazim Sajjad Khan, provincial parliamentary secretary Raja Rashid Hafeez, PML-Q PMA Raja Mushtaq Kiani, Asian Development Bank’s director in Pakistan Marshook Ali Shah, director of the Project Management Unit (PMU) Maqsood Hussain and other officials were also present.

The PMU project director said the ADB had provided $72 million for various development schemes in the city. He said an amount of Rs310 million had been spent on supply of potable water to the city from Khanpur Dam and the laying of lines from Tamat to Pindi.