The project will be completed with the investments from private entities
Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the Ravi Urban Development Project worth five trillion rupees as the government looks to revive the lost glory of Lahore, Punjab’s capital badly affected due to rapid pollution, sewage, and water shortage problems. The project will be built at a distance of about 30 kilometers and will help rehabilitate the Ravi River. The hallmarks of the project are the well-planned urban design and friendliness to the environment.
As a part of the project, barrages will be constructed on Ravi and sewage treatment plants along the river would be installed to feed clean water into the river. Six million trees will also be planted in the new city. Lahore’s water table, which has fallen to 800 feet, will be restored in fifteen years’ time.
Speaking at the occasion, the prime minister said the modern city project was “Vital to save the historical city of Lahore from environmental challenges in the wake of unplanned settlements”. “The rate at which our population is growing, if we are to save Lahore, the river Ravi project is something that is totally unavoidable now,” khan said.
Imran Khan also hinted at high rise buildings in the state of the art city suggesting that the cities now grow vertically. “Modern cities grow vertically, not horizontally, and it is then easier for the government to take care of their needs like water and sewerage.”
Economy to benefit from the project
The project will be completed with investments from private entities. “Of course it will be funded by private investment, not the government,” Khan said. He hoped that overseas Pakistanis will invest in the project and benefit from the opportunity. The project will create economic activity as thousands of people will be employed and as many as 40 industries will be engaged in the project directly and indirectly.