PUNJAB, which has been rolling out people-centric projects and programmes on an almost daily basis during the last one year, is going to launch two more landmark initiatives – “Magnificent Punjab,” aimed at transform-ing the province into a regional and international hub for history, culture and tourism; and the province’s first-ever fully underground Blue Line Metro Train service for Lahore.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has given instructions to the authorities concerned to finalize these vital projects and launch them at the earliest.
Punjab, the most populated province of the country, has huge tourism potential, which remains untapped mainly because of lack of interest and proper development of the sector.
It has many tourist attractions including historic sites, religious sites and natural beauty.
The PML(N) has a track record of planning and implementing short, medium and long term plans to develop Murree, the queen of mountains, which has become one of the top tourist destinations but the need for a comprehensive and coherent plan was being felt for long to exploit rich potential of the province for tourism.
The new plan envisages development of 170 heritage sites across Punjab into world-class tourist destinations; transformation of Taxila into an international ‘tourist city’ and development of Chhanga Manga into a modern entertainment hub modelled after Switzerland.
Besides this, instructions have been issued for preparation of PC-I for sixteen tourism projects and large-scale beatification of the provincial capital.
Lahore will also have a 27-kilometer long underground metro train project that is going to become a reality in just three years.
All this is in addition to several other projects initiated during the last one year to provide decent and affordable modes of travel to the general public.
All these projects will surely go a long way in transforming the socio-economic landscape of the province.
