SIALKOT, Dec 5: The provincial government has acquired as many as 500 acres of land to establish an engineering university in Sialkot.

Sialkot District Nazim Muhammad Akmal Cheema disclosed this while presiding over a meeting of the Sialkot city’s all main trade bodies held here on Tuesday.

The Sialkot businesses community has recently provided a special grant of Rs1,30,000 euros from the Sialkot City Development Package Fund on a self-help basis for the early establishment of the university.

The meeting was told that the construction of the proposed university would be started soon on 500 acres on the main Sialkot-Sambrial-Wazirabad Road near Sambrial. The Swedish government would collaborate with the authorities concerned through the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

The meeting was told that the Swedish government would also provide complete technical assistance in this regard.

The meeting was attended by Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PSGMEA) chairman Prof Sheikh Safdar Sandal, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sheikh Abdul Waheed Sandal, Sialkot Dry Port Trust chairman Mehboob A. Sheikh, Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association chairman Ahmad Zulfiqar Hayat, Pakistan Gloves Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PGMEA) chairman Muhammad Younas, and Sialkot DCO Rizwanullah Baig.