‘New LDA Master Plan designed as per needs of industrial sector’

LAHORE:Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Vice-Chairman S M Imran has said that the new Master Plan of Lahore will cater to the future needs of the industrial sector.

He was speaking at a meeting of the stakeholders at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI). He said that in the past, all master plans were made without keeping in view the ground realities and due consultation with the stakeholders. “The new Master Plan of Lahore is being evolved under wide consultation with the stakeholders to protect their stakes”.

He said that all decisions will be finalised in consultation with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “We are making new Master Plan of Lahore for the next generations”, he said and added that special attention is being given to the environment according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah said that there was insufficient land in and around Lahore for industrial investment and expansion. There were only two major industrial estates in Lahore i.e. Sundar and Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate which had reached their full capacity, he informed. This was the main reason that the cost of industrial land had gone extremely high in Lahore.

He said that LCCI has always advocated for rezoning of Lahore Division to accommodate the needs of future expansion of industrial sector, he added. He said that due to the lack of industrial zoning, the industry was overburdened by high rate of conversion fee for land use charged by LDA (20 per cent of the value according to DC rate).