SIALKOT, Jan 21: The local business community and leading exporters have again agreed to donate funds for the uplift and beautification of the city.

The decision was announced at a meeting held here on Monday called by Sialkot tehsil Nazim and Muhammad Akmal Cheema, who is also a prominent exporter.

Under the City Development Package, the construction work on two phases had been completed while the work on as many other phases was still incomplete. The Frontier Works Organization was supervising the project when some exporters and trade associations suddenly stopped their donations.

Exporters had been donating 0.25 per cent of their total exports for the uplift and beautification of the city since 1997.

According to a press release, the tehsil Nazim approached the exporters who assured him that they would restart their donations.

Meanwhile, local chamber of commerce and industry president Daud Ahmad Chattha said the business community had, so far, donated Rs30 million for the development of the city under the City Development Package.

He said the business community took an initiative to launch this package after the Punjab government’s commitment to provide a matching grant in the ratio of 1:3 for the purpose. The government provided Rs100 million, but later on, the contribution was stopped. The contribution by the government should have been Rs390 million, he said.

The chamber chief appealed to Governor Khalid Maqbool to order payment of the remaining amount.