Planning minister directs completion of ‘Gwadar Safe City Project’ in six months

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (APP): Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday directed the provincial government of Balochistan to revise its PC-1 before the next Central Working Development Party CDWP meeting scheduled in September.

In order to complete the Gwadar Safe City Project (GSCP) in six months, the minister for planning directed this to provincial government to Balochistan, said a press release issued here.

The minister issued these directions while chairing a steering committee meeting to review progress on GSCP.

The meeting was attended by the Additional Secretary Planning Commission, Secretary Ministry of Information and Technology and Inspector General of Police IGP(Islamabad).

It is noted that Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) had already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for providing technical and operational support to the Gwadar Safe City Project and to the Government of Balochistan which is the main sponsoring agency of the project.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary Balochistan briefed the minister about the current status of the project.

The minister while reviewing the progress directed the provincial government to hold a meeting next week with PSCA while following their model which remained successful in Punjab.

It is pertinent to mention here that under the project, around 675 CCTV cameras will be installed in various parts of Gwadar to secure the area.

The minister further directed the CS Balochistan to rationalize the cost of the project while recruiting the professional Project Director for this project.

During the meeting, the minister also inquired about the status of Quetta Safe City Project.

It was informed that equipment had been taken for this project and further progress was underway.

The minister directed the concerned stakeholders to integrate it with GCSP and there should be no overlapping.

“The prime objective is to take maximum security measures for Gwadar which will be a gateway for the CPEC,” the minister held.