Saudi firm will invest $600 million to modernize industrial zone, according to Dr. Shabaz Gill, Adviser to Prime minister.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s adviser on political communication Dr. Shahbaz Gill announced on Wednesday that a Saudi infrastructure development company would invest $600 million to modernize an industrial zone in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore.
Gill was addressing a news conference about the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project, an approved urban development megaproject in Lahore District, Punjab, that runs along the Ravi River.
The scheme includes the construction of a 40,000-hectare (100,000-acre) planned city and the rehabilitation of the Ravi River into a perennial freshwater body. The project is to be completed in three phases and is expected to be the largest riverfront of the world when finished.
Gill said an industrial zone spread over 5,000 acres of land under the Ravi project would be upgraded by a Saudi firm. He did not name the company but said the Pakistani prime minister had discussed the megaproject with Saudi authorities during his last visit to Riyadh in October, creating significant interest among investors and firms in the kingdom.
“The Saudi firm will invest $600 million in which it will upgrade the industrial zone along modern lines by introducing proper waste management system,” Gill said, adding that the company would also build 1,900 apartments, six schools of international standards and an advanced hospital in the area.
He said the infrastructure development company had extensive experience in undertaking similar projects elsewhere, adding that all development projects carried out by the Saudi firm would ultimately become Pakistan’s property.
