Punjab CM Usman Buzdar lays foundation of Firdous Market Underpass

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar laid the foundation stone of Firdous Market Underpass Project here Monday. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that Rs1.76 billion would be spent on the project, which included the land acquisition cost also.

Giving details, he said the construction cost was estimated at Rs1.09 billion. However, the government conducted a transparent tendering process and awarded the construction contract for Rs960 million, thus saving Rs130 million of the nation's money.

The chief minister commended the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for saving Rs130 million, adding that the PTI government was custodian of every penny of the national exchequer.

The project was estimated to be completed in four months; however, the LDA had been directed to complete it in 90 days without compromising on quality of the construction work, he added. The chief minister said that he would personally supervise the project, just like those he was supervising in backward areas.

The public resources were plundered in the past, but the government had saved the public money, he added. Money-minting had been a basic aim of the past rulers, but this government was making the all-out effort to spend the public money on their welfare, added the CM.

Usman Buzdar said that the 540-metre long two-lane dual carriageway underpass would facilitate traffic from the adjoining areas, with special arrangements for water disposal. He said around seven-kanal land would be acquired for the project, promising that no building at Firdous Market Chowk would be affected.

The project would benefit more than 91,000 vehicles daily to save fuel worth millions of rupees annually, he said. LDA Director General Ahmad Aziz Tarar briefed the chief minister about the project.

Provincial Ministers Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Murad Raas, LDA Vice-Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Imran, Punjab Assembly members Sadia Sohail Rana, Umer Aftab Dhillon, Secretary Information, DC Lahore and others were also present.