LAHORE, Nov 8: The Pace shopping centre which was reduced to ashes in an inferno on Sept 13 would be reconstructed in eight months and a plan was revealed here on Thursday by Salman Taseer, the chairman of the centre.

According to an agreement reached between the management and the shopkeepers, the management would bear the cost of reconstruction and also return 60 per cent of security deposits so that tenants could restart businesses once the construction is complete.

It has been further agreed that all other dues, if any, would also be cleared by the management to facilitate shopkeepers. In the meantime, 50 tent-stalls would be established on the premises of the centre and the deserving shopkeepers would be allowed to continue their business.

A spokesman for the management said the reconstruction would cost around Rs120 million to Rs130 million.

About the insurance claims, he said though the original claim was worth Rs200 million, but after deducting the depreciation cost, the claim had been reduced to around Rs110 million. The amount was less than the reconstruction cost, he added.