ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the government has steered the country out of difficult times and now it will witness sustainable growth and development.
He was addressing a ceremony after performing the groundbreaking of upgradation and rehabilitation of sixty two kilometers long Lodhran-Multan highway, here on Friday. The project will be completed at a cost of Rs6.886 billion in two years’ time. The Prime Minister said there will be now wealth generation and people will get job opportunities. On the economic front, he said the people will continue to hear good news.
He said the country registered a growth of four percent this financial year despite COVID-19 challenge. He said we not only saved our people from the pandemic but also the economy. He said the government is focusing on uplifting the agriculture, industries, IT, housing and tourism to take forward the country.
The Prime Minister said a package is being brought for the farmers to bring green revolution in the country. He said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project has entered in the next phase of industrialization wherein Chinese companies will relocate their industries in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of Pakistan.
He said we are building ten dams as part of efforts to enhance our water storage capacity. To protect the future of our coming generations, we are planting ten billion trees. Imran Khan said the government has given unprecedented incentives to the construction industry and as a result of which the cement sale has reached the record levels.
Regarding the affordable houses for the people under Naya Pakistan Housing Program, the Prime Minister said the people have shown great interest in taking soft loans from the banks for construction of houses.
He said the banks have so far received loan demands of sixty billion rupees. He said the government also has a plan to establish such financial institutions which only provide loans for the construction of houses.
The Prime Minister said we have waged a struggle to purge the society from different mafias, who only work for their vested interests. He said our struggle is aimed at ensuring rule of law in the country as no society can progress without bringing the powerful people under the umbrella of law.
In his remarks, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said three districts of South Punjab: Bahawalpur, Lodhran and Multan will greatly benefit from the upgradation project launched today.
He said this will reduce the travel time between Bahawalpur and Multan to only forty five minutes. He said it is the first time that separate development fund is being allocated for South Punjab from the budget of Punjab.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Communications Murad Saeed said the present government has completed road infrastructure of 1753 kilometers in its two and a half year tenure and there is a plan to start work on another 6118 kilometers of roads this year.
He said groundbreaking of Sialkot-Kharian motorway will be performed in the next ten days. Approval has also been given for Kharian-Rawalpindi motorway and this project will be started in three months.
Murad Saeed said present government initiated work on the western route of the CPEC which will bring prosperity in the underdeveloped areas of the country. He said we have increased the revenue of National Highway Authority by seventy two billion rupees.