The vision of Chief Minister Punjab is to promote public-private partnership in Punjab, as stated by Senior Provincial Minister in a conference
Lahore: Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurngzeb has said that they will establish an international model by running public-private partnership in Punjab. Addressing the first investment conference, Maryam Aurangzeb said that the meeting held by the Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz related to public-private partnership is a real model for Punjab. She has issued directives to improve the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model from the beginning.
Maryam Aurangzeb stated that the economy of Punjab is worth 2.25 billion dollars. The GDP of Punjab is less than that of 33 countries in the world. In order to advance the country’s development, Punjab’s public-private partnership will be designed to exceed other countries. The work of amending the framework, balancing the effects in every sector and taking an assessment has already been completed.
She said that like the vision of leaders of the PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, and Shehbaz Sharif, who worked on the Rodbinary network under the public-private partnership, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is determined to work. Under the public-private partnership, energy, urban development, social sector, industry, and other sectors will be made operational by incorporating stakeholders into the constitutional framework for the benefit of the public.
The Senior Provincial Minister said that the vision of the Chief Minister of Punjab is to run public-private partnership in Punjab like the rest of the world. In this regard, the final framework will be discussed in a meeting under the supervision of Maryam Nawaz Sharif. The first public-private partnership in Pakistan was initiated by Mian Nawaz Sharif on the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway.
She said that public-private partnership is being implemented in both the federal and Punjab levels. The Planning Ministry is working on it. We are creating a case study that will serve other provinces as well. Investors and developers will be included in the final draft.
Maryam Aurangzeb said that the Muslim League-N has also been criticized for the infrastructure and road network. Many projects for public welfare in 2017-18 were put on hold due to cost overrun. The suspension of the projects not only harmed the public but also caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
Addressing the conference, Provincial Minister for Communications and Transport Malik Sohail Bharth said that during the 2-month tenure under the supervision of the Chief Minister, the Punjab government has worked hard. Private investors are being trusted to improve the road infrastructure. They will address the concerns of developers and investors. They said that people did not want to invest with the government, but now the situation has changed.
In the conference, representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Public-Private Partnership Authority, private investors, and developers, as well as representatives of the banking sector and business personalities, participated and presented their suggestions.