TAXILA: The Attock district administration on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a company for digital town planning and urban development of two towns of the district, and the project is expected to complete before December this year.

Deputy Commissioner Attock Ali Annan Qammar on Saturday said that the company, ‘Sheher Saaz’, would provide free of cost consultancy services for town planning and urban development of Hassanabdal and Fatehjang towns of the district.

The town planning includes roads, streets, sewerage and other infrastructure development for next 20 years.

He said the district is located at the crossroads of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, and its master planning is necessary being part of an international project.

He said the Attock district was located at a strategically important location having Islamabad international airport as well as having motorway, interprovincial routes including motorway as well as centre of religious tourists, so its planning was necessary.

The deputy commissioner said the company was already providing consultancy services in Islamabad and its expertise would be utilised in digital town planning of Hassanabdal and Fatehjang in the first phase and in the second phase of the Attock city.

He said this would prove as the first milestone for the computerised civic, roads and traffic development of these two towns as per the international standards, adding that air, noise and water pollution were a result of poor planning and demanded the government to prioritise the resolution of this issue.

He said: “We need to innovate, develop master plans, update and improve existing plans and systematically plan towns.”

Hassanabdal Assistant Commissioner Adnan Anjum Raja, who signed the MoU on behalf of the district government.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2020