Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will perform the ground breaking of a state-of-the-art exhibition and fair centre, called 'Expo Centre' here on July 19.
Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan and Minister of State and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Chairman Tariq Ikram will also attend the ceremony.
The Expo Center, which will be established at an estimated cost of Rs 1 billion, including the cost of land, will provide all necessary facilities under one-roof to local exporters and foreign companies to exhibit their products so that foreign trade delegations/buyers could be attracted to visit Lahore and get first hand knowledge about various products.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the proposed Expo Center was signed between the federal commerce ministry and the Punjab industries and minerals department on March 30, 2002. The Punjab government has already earmarked 50 acres of land at a prime location in the city, which is easily accessible, and has been provided with all civic amenities.
As per MoU, the Expo Lahore (Pvt) Ltd., has been established under the Companies Ordinance - 1984.
In accordance with the provision of MoU, a steering committee was also formed to look after the affairs of the project. The members of the committee would be the directors of the board for which the prime minister has already accorded approval.
Following are the directors of the committee: Punjab industries minister, the EPB chairman; the EPB vice chairman; the Lahore EPB director-general; the Punjab industries secretary, federal commerce joint secretary (admn), the Punjab finance secretary, the LDA director-general; the Lahore Borjan chief executive; the FPCCI president, and the LCCI president.
The MoU also provides to involve professionals and in this context appointment of a chief operating officer (COO) for the proposed company is under process.
The chief operating officer will be responsible for formulating his/her own team to execute the assigned duties.
The Rizvi & Rizvi has been appointed to help the steering committee in the preparation and vetting of legal documents.
At present, the process for selection of pre-qualifications of engineering and architectural companies is under process.