ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The ‘food park’ at Melody Market will be inaugurated on August 7.

The park will be inaugurated by Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider at 8pm. Different musical bands will perform on the occasion. The event is being organized by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) with the sponsorship of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

Different traditional and international cuisines will be available at the park which has been established on the pattern of the food street in Lahore.

The project was approved by the interior minister on January 2 to provide facility of both international and traditional food to the people in the capital.

According to CDA’s plan, the food park project was supposed to start on April 15, but due to certain reasons it was postponed till March 23. The project, however, did not commence even on that date. A senior CDA official told Dawn that the date was further extended so that better facilities could be provided to the people.

Food like Pai, Saag and Makai ki Roti, Nihari, Haleem, Barbecue items, roasted Chiray and quails, Chappal Kabab, Palao, sweets, ice-cream and cold drinks will be available at the park.

As many as 27 kiosks, measuring 14x16 feet, have been constructed at the cost of Rs80,000 each and allotted to prominent and experienced enterprises for a period of two years. All the tenants of the kiosks have an experience of atleast 40 years, he added.

Some 1,600 applications were received by the CDA from all over the country. A committee scrutinized the applications after which kiosks were allotted to prominent enterprises, he added.

The CDA official said there would be outdoor seating arrangements in the park. He said the CDA would ensure the availability of hygienic cuisines in the food park and the health department of the authority would keep a regular check on it.