Shahbaz Sharif inaugurates the Lahore’s Saif City Programme

Lahore : Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated Punjab Safe City Project, the biggest project in Asia, at Qurban Lines, here today.

Chinese Consul General Yu Boren, Provincial Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Bilal Yasin, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, Assembly Members, Chief Secretary and officers concerned were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister announced that Safe City Project will also be started in six other cities of Punjab including Multan, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Sargodha and will be completed by the end of 2017. He said that the first phase of Punjab Safe City Project has been completed in Lahore while its other phases will be completed by the middle of next year, which will help in surveillance of the entire city with modern technology.

After inaugurating Integrated Command, Control and Communication Center of Punjab Safe Cities Authority, the Chief Minister said that the first phase of Safe City Project has completed in a record period of time.

He said that Punjab government started Safe City Project for providing a crime-free and peaceful atmosphere to the citizens and an amount of Rs.12 crore is being spent for this purpose. He said that a huge screen has been installed in Command & Control Center under this project which is the biggest screen of Asia.

He said that Punjab government is working on Safe City Project with the collaboration of a leading Chinese company Huawei and it is the first project of its kind in Pakistan.

Shahbaz Sharif hoped that the Chinese company would operate this project as an example of hard work, honesty and transparency. He said that Punjab is the first province where this kind of project has been inaugurated whereas federal government started Safe City Project in Islamabad six years ago which has now been completed.

He said that Federal Interior Minister Ch. Nisar Ali Khan increased the number of cameras of Islamabad Safe City Project from 1500 to 2000 whereas eight thousand cameras are being installed in Lahore under Punjab Safe City Project.

He said that Huawei made the lowest bid of 16 billion rupees for Safe City Project of Punjab, however, this amount was brought down to 12 billion rupees and a saving of four billion rupees was made. Contrary to this, he said, Islamabad Safe City Project is four times smaller and its agreement was signed for Rs.12 billion six years ago. He said that those leveling allegations of corruption should also remember transparency in this project and the saving of four billion rupees of national resources.

He said that recruitments for Safe City Project have been made purely on merit and best training has been imparted. He said that youth recruited for the project are witness to the fact that they have been selected on merit and it is hoped that they will spare no effort for the success of this project. He said that monitoring of different areas is being carried out on the screens set up at Command & Control Center and a vigilant eye will be kept on criminal elements.

He said that in case of any incident of crime, an alarm would ring which will alert the concerned institution. He said that due to this step of Punjab government, Pakistan would become a safe, peaceful and prosperous country.

He said that with the implementation of Safe City Project in seven cities, Punjab would emerge as a safe, prosperous and peaceful province.

Shahbaz Sharif said that Chinese Consul General Yu Boren has extended commendable cooperation and the Chinese company has completed the first phase of the project in a professional manner. He said that this project is also linked with CPEC on which work is being carried out expeditiously in all the four provinces.

The Chief Minister said that more projects under CPEC are being set up in Sindh than Punjab and it is a matter of satisfaction that work is continuing on these projects in Sindh as well. He said that Orange Line Metro Train project has also been started with the funding of China and these funds are to be repaid by the Punjab government to China. Therefore, there is need to hold the interests of Pakistan uppermost.

He further said that Safe City Project is of vital importance for curbing extremism, terrorism, crime and the activities of anti-social elements, therefore, there is a need to make every effort for its success.

Chief Operating Officer Punjab Safe City Authority Nisar Akbar while addressing the function said that the dream of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has been realized.

Chinese Consul General Yu Boren said that due to personal efforts taken by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the project has been implemented expeditiously and it is a milestone in Pak-China friendship. He said that work is being carried out with speed and quality over CPEC project in Punjab as well as the whole country and implementation of Punjab Safe City Project will provide a safe and peaceful environment to the masses.

Chief Executive officer Huawei Company said that Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif is extending full support for this project due to which its first phase has been completed. He said that the screen set up at Command & Control Center is the largest of its kind in the world. He said that the first phase of project has been completed in a record period.

Inspector General Police Mushtaq Sukhera said that demands of security have changed with the passage of time, therefore, Punjab police is being equipped with modern technology.