LAHORE: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of Rs4.23 billion Shahkam Chowk flyover.

Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister said the Punjab government was following the policy of balanced development so that everyone could enjoy the benefits. He said improving the quality of life of the poor through the creation of opportunities was the government priority.

The signal-free flyover will ease movement of 125,000 vehicles daily. The 606-metre two-sided (three lanes on each side) project will be completed in 10 months and save Rs390m in land acquisition and transparent tendering.

Under this project, a six-kilometre long Defence Road will also be dualised from Labour Colony to Multan Road along with the construction of small bridges at the Hudiara Drain and canal.

“The Shahkam Chowk is a central point to connect different areas of the city, where traffic often gets clogged due to a lack of space. The government has completed several projects in Lahore including the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar underpass, entrance point at Thokar Niaz Beg, a pedestrian bridge at Jinnah Hospital and construction of an underground water tank for rainwater. Similarly, Miyawaki urban forests are being developed at different points,” he said.

A master plan – “centre of civilization and prosperous Lahore” – was being devised to develop the provincial metropolis according to future needs, he added.

The Ravi River Urban Development Project and Central Business District are game-changer initiatives to transform Lahore into a world class city.

Along with the establishment of a children health university, a mother and child block would also be completed with Rs7 billion at Ganga Ram Hospital, he said.

A new general hospital would be built with Rs14bn and water treatment plants built at Mahmood Booti, Shahdara and Shadbagh at a cost of Rs10bn.

While giving further details about the development performance of the PTI government, the CM said construction of multi-storey parking plaza was being started near Civil Secretariat to further ease traffic in the city.

He said the scope of the LDA had been restricted to Lahore only and it had been decided to divide the city into new administrative units to improve service delivery and work was in progress actively.

The government has increased development budget by 66 per cent, health by 185 per cent, higher education by 286 per cent, school education by 29 per cent and agriculture by 306 per cent, he added.

Provincial Minister Mahmoodur Rasheed and the Wasa vice chairman also spoke. The DG LDA briefed on the project detail.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2021