Punjab government on Friday announced to reconstruct roads to six heritages and tourist sites in the province. The project aims to promote tourism and economic growth.
The initiative supported by World Bank aims to rehabilitate and construct the heritage, cultural, and tourist sites in the province in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to promote tourism across Pakistan.
The project named, ‘Punjab Tourism for Economic Growth’ will develop the infrastructure of heritage and tourist sites.
Chief Minister of Punjab, Usman Buzdar, announced the inauguration of the project in a tweet. The tweet read: “Under the project ‘Punjab Tourism for Economic Growth’, access infrastructure leading to top cultural and heritage sites will be widened and improved. In the first phase, we have laid the foundation stones of 6 roads today to reach the famous cultural centers of the province”.
Today Punjab Govt had launched initiative to Develop Infrastructure for Heritage Sites under the project of @PTEGPOfficial.
This project aims to develop tourism sites and promote our tourism industry in order to promote PM @ImranKhanPTI's vision of tourism.#RoadsToPunjabTourism pic.twitter.com/feKNrbEFuG
— Mian Aslam Iqbal (@MMAslamIqbal) December 18, 2020
Six roads will be expanded and widened to five destinations that include Top Mankiala, Taxila Museum, Gurdwara Sucha Sauda, Mariamabad Church, and Darbar Khawaja Ghulam Fareed.
Punjab to Reconstruct Six Roads to Top Heritage, Cultural, and Tourism Sites#RoadstoPunjabTourism #ReformingPunjab #PTI #PTIFamilyhttps://t.co/Mtzv9fCjxF
— Reforming Punjab (@ReformingPunjab) December 18, 2020
پنجاب میں ثقافتی اور سیاحتی مقامات تک رسائی اور صوبے میں سیاحت کے فروع کے لیے "Punjab Tourism for Economic Growth" پراجیکٹ کا آغاز کیاگیا ہے
اس منصوبے کے پہلے فیز میں صوبے کے مشہور ثقافتی مراکز تک رسائی کے لیے آج ہم نے 6 سڑکوں کا سنگ بنیاد رکھ دیا ہے#RoadsToPunjabTourism pic.twitter.com/Us8vJuVC7u
— Usman Buzdar (@UsmanAKBuzdar) December 18, 2020
The provincial government says the mega project will provide an opportunity to improve Punjab’s heritage & religious tourism and further promoting the soft image of Pakistan.
Read more: Ancestral homes of Bollywood actors in Peshawar approved as national heritage
Besides Punjab, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government is also taking a keen interest in the development and rehabilitation of heritage, cultural, and tourist sites.
Earlier this week, the KP government had set a price to buy the ancestral homes of Bollywood actors, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in Peshawar. The houses will be converted into museums by the archaeology department of KP. The KP archaeology department has declared the two houses a national heritage site that is recognized internationally.
The purchase of both houses is estimated to be Rs.24 million which includes the cost of land and infrastructure. The price of Dilip Kumar’s house has been fixed at Rs. 80,056,696, and the price for Raj Kapoor’s house has been fixed at Rs.15 million.
Read more: How to make Pakistan a competitive tourism destination post COVID-19
After the purchase of these two houses, they will be repaired and restored in their original form in two phases. In the last phase, the houses will be converted into museums under the restoration plan.