'Modern' Multan airport inaugurated

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said the national consensus, achieved against terrorism, was an opportunity to carve out a national development agenda for country's bright future. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of modern Multan International Airport completed with over nine billion rupees and set to boost exports from this city, besides providing opportunity for international travel to the people of South Punjab.
Premier Sharif said both political and military leadership were on the same page in the commitment to eliminate terrorism and the national action plan was being implemented in a flawless manner to root out terrorism. Nawaz Sharif said that political consensus could be instrumental in devising a national development agenda. In that context, he called upon all the political parties to come up with a national action plan on development and lend support for country's development and prosperity.
The Prime Minister said that newly constructed well-equipped terminal of Multan International Airport would link Southern Punjab with rest of the world and had a positive impact on national economy. Nawaz Sharif also highlighted the need for continuity of development process, saying it should remain unchanged even after change of successive governments.
He said former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had laid the foundation of Multan International Airport and the PML-N-led government had completed it with utmost seriousness because it was meant to facilitate people and geared to boost national economy and business. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani who was specially invited for the event as he was the one who laid the foundation stone of the new Multan airport in 2012.
Nawaz Sharif acknowledged that that was the way things should move, that when a government initiated a project in public interest the next one completed it. The Prime Minister visited various sections of the airport, where he was briefed about the modern facilities by his Special Assistant on Aviation Shujaat Azim.
He said Multan, being a major agricultural and industrial centre, would greatly benefit from direct air linkage with the rest of the world and had positive impact on the national economy. Prime Minister Sharif said special mango flights from Multan would bring the sweetness of local mangoes to the people across the world, adding that similarly textiles, handicrafts and other industries would directly benefit from the facility.
Prime Minister Sharif appreciated the quality of work of the airport and termed it one of the best in the country. He however directed to ensure its maintenance so that the people did not face any difficulty. He said the people of Multan would soon begin to reap the benefits of the new modern linkage that would provide them a fast and modern travelling facility.
The PM noted that the proposal for the construction of four air bridges at Multan Airport would fall short of the growing demand and said he foresaw the demand for another 40 air bridges in near future as more international flights would start their flight operations. He said Multan was being connected to the rest of the country through a modern motorway network, adding Multan would be connected to Lahore at a cost of Rs 130 billion and with Sukkur at a cost of Rs 242 billion.
He said an amount of Rs 55 billion had been allocated for acquisition of land for Karachi-Lahore motorway and informed that he would soon be performing ground breaking at Hyderabad. He hoped that the project would be completed by 2017 and people would prefer to travel by road rather using air travel. The Prime Minister spoke of the rich historical, political and cultural significance of Multan and said the expansion of the airport would play a major role in linking the Southern Punjab with the rest of the world.
He said the people of South Punjab had been deprived of development in the past however work was now underway to bring it at par with the developed areas of the country. He said a development package of Rs 29 billion had been earmarked for the city and adjoining areas. The federal government would provide funds for the construction of a 32km long inter-city ring road to facilitate the people, he further said.
He mentioned that a number of projects were underway including the Shahbaz Sharif hospital costing Rs 510 million, a burn unit and up-gradation of Intensive Care Unit in Nishtar Hospital, a kidney centre costing Rs 870 million to cater to the needs of the health sector. A drug testing laboratory has been constructed at cost of Rs 10 billion. He said classes had begun in agriculture, engineering and women universities and promised that those would have separate campuses soon.
The PM said it was his government's desire to complete projects for generation of 10,000MW before the end of his government's tenure and said a number of short and long term projects were underway to meet the future needs of the country. He said, for the country to progress, there was a need to plan ahead for at least 25 years so that the country kept pace with the modern world.
Referring to the National Action Plan against terrorism, he said the national civil and military leadership had vowed to stand together to face the challenges confronting the country. He said similar consensus was needed by the political leadership to address all challenges being faced by the country. Commenting on the Pak-China economic corridor, the premier said "the government is working day and night to ensure infrastructure projects that are underway across the country, and the progress is coming along well," noting that "no country can move ahead economically without the elimination of terrorism."
PM Nawaz Sharif also made comments pertaining to the end of the energy crisis in the country and informed that the government would be bringing an additional 10,000MW of electricity to cope with the crisis. The PM assured that the electricity crisis would end in his tenure and that the country was on its way to growth and the benefits would be visible to everyone across the nation. Federal Minister for National Food Security Sikandar Hayat Bosan, Minister of State for Water and Power Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali, PM's Special Assistant on Aviation Shujaat Azeem, former Premier Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani besides senior officials attended the ceremony.