LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar laid the foundation stone of Firdous Market underpass project here on Monday.
LDA Director General Ahmad Aziz Tarar briefed the CM about the project. Provincial ministers Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Murad Raas, LDA Vice Chairman (VC) Sheikh Muhammad Imran, Punjab Assembly members Sadia Sohail Rana, Umer Aftab Dhillon, secretary information, DC Lahore and others were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister commended the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for this saving, adding that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was the custodian of every penny of the national exchequer.
“The project was estimated to be completed in four months; however, the LDA had been directed to complete it in 90 days without compromising on the quality of the construction work,” he added.
According to the details, Rs1.76 billion would be spent on the project, which includes the land acquisition cost. The 540-metre long two-lane dual carriageway underpass would facilitate traffic from the adjoining areas, with special arrangements for water disposal while the project would be spread over seven-kanal land.
Promised that no building at the Firdous Market chowk would be affected, the CM said that the project would benefit more than 91,000 vehicles daily to save fuel worth millions of rupees annually.
Giving more details, he said the construction cost was estimated at Rs1.09 billion. However, the government conducted a transparent tendering process and awarded the construction contract for Rs960 million, thus saving Rs130 million of the nation’s money.
The CM said he would personally supervise the project, just like the projects he was supervising in backward areas.
“Public resources were plundered in the past, but the incumbent government saved the public’s money. Money-minting had been a basic aim of the past rulers, but this government makes all-out efforts to spend the public’s money on their welfare,” he concluded.
