MULTAN, Oct 9 Bids for a Rs40.47 million Multan museum project and Rs31 million Shujaabad fortification wall rehabilitation scheme will be opened on Oct 15 to carryout work during the current financial year.

According to Punjab Archaeology department officials, around Rs16.5 million worth of tenders will be opened for the Multan museum project, including around Rs14 million for rehabilitation and converting over a century-old building of the Clock Tower Chowk into a museum and another Rs2.5 million for electricity wiring.

Out of total Rs40.47 million, about Rs20 million allocated for the museum project in the fiscal year 2009-10 is expected to be released shortly.

A sum of Rs5 million has been allocated for collecting antiquities out of which Rs1.5 million will be utilized in the current fiscal and the remaining amount in the next fiscal year.

An amount of Rs4 million has already been spent on Shujaabad fortification wall rehabilitation while tenders worth around Rs11.5 million would be opened on Oct 15 to resume work on it to achieve the work target set for the year 2009-10.

Officials said the work scheduled for the current fiscal year would be completed, but the work targets set for the next fiscal year might not be met due to encroachments around the fortification wall.

Meanwhile, as per the Supreme Court directions to remove encroachments from around monuments all over the country, the Archaeology department and the district government of Multan have intensified joint efforts to remove encroachments and finalize a report to be submitted before the apex court on next hearing.—APP