KARACHI, May 21: President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday said that with the country’s economy having been stabilised the focus would now be on the issues of poverty alleviation, jobs creation and inflation control.

Inaugurating the Rs5.954 billion K-III additional 100-MGD water supply project for Karachi at the Dhabeji pumping station, the president said he would soon unveil his ‘Vision Pakistan’ programme.

He said there was a time when the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) used to be worth Rs92-Rs95 billion only against the existing Rs250 billion which would be spent on mega-projects.

He said that under the Vision Pakistan each house would be receiving electricity, safe drinking water and gas.

“I can say with great pride today that the projects which I had launched in 2000 are now reaching the stage of completion and their fruits are starting reaching the people at the grassroots level,” he pointed out.

“By the year December 2007, each village having 10 houses will get electricity and this is my promise to the nation.”

Gen Musharraf said that work on Mirani Dam in Balochistan that he launched four years ago was nearing completion and he would inaugurate it in September. He said the dam would irrigate 35,000 acres of land besides helping in fish production.

He said work was also going on the Right Bank Outfall Drainage, Reni Canal and Thal Canal besides projects in the NWFP and Balochistan and would be completed according to the schedule.

He said the height of Mangla Dam was being raised by 30 feet to store an additional 2.9 million acres feet of water which would be equal to half of the Tarbela Dam’s storage capacity.

He announced that in areas where gas cannot be carried through pipes gas-tanks would be installed to provide gas to the area people. Equal attention would be paid to the provision of education and health facilities in such areas, he said.

The president said he was delighted to inaugurate the K-III project which had been completed three months ahead of schedule.

He praised the city government for plugging leakages resulting in saving 33 per cent of water wastage and noted that it was now trying to root out the tanker mafia.

He described the implementation of K-III project as an ideal example of cooperation between federal, provincial and city governments.—APP