The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) stood tall by giving gracious Lahore Expo Centre to provincial metropolitan-Lahore. Its leadership which conceived the idea of Lahore Expo Centre in 2000, and then kept on following the plan vigorously for the years to come.
The FPCCI conceived the idea of Lahore Expo Centre in 2000 by the then president Iftikhar Ali Malik. He is a brain behind the idea of having a world class expo centre in Lahore to meet its requirement to play a great role for exports and at the same time help close areas which have great potential to enhance country's exports.
Lahore expo centre was followed by another milestone by FPCCI by getting a plot in Islamabad during Iftikhar Ali Malik's tenure as president for its regional centre in 2002. Doubtlessly, FPCCI's Islamabad centre will facilitate the traders and industrialists to help them secure more and more trade exports and industrial activities in upcountry areas.
FPCCI received equally good response from the federal and Punjab government for materialising the idea of Lahore Expo Centre.
The federal government provided Rs 600 million from the Export Development Fund (EDF) for holding of the Expo 2007 at this venue, which is being widely deemed to prove a massive facility for exporters.
The land allocation process at this site has already been completed under the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and Governor Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (Retd).
The motive behind the idea of having an Expo Centre in the provincial metropolis was to promote the non-traditional exportable items of high quality, which were made by gifted artisans hailing from smaller cities of Punjab and NWFP, especially those coming from upcountry towns and the ones falling in the Saraiki-speaking belt.
At the expo site, both government and private sector leaders are keen to build a state-of-the-art convention centre with a seating capacity for 2000 people, four centrally air-conditioned meeting halls, amusement parks and a fully-equipped hotel to cater to the boarding/lodging needs of the visiting foreign delegates.
Design of the Lahore Expo Centre is unique. Its special arrangements have reportedly been made to make the environment absolutely pollution-free by constructing the car parking stand at a fair distance from the due-to-be-prepared lush lawns and the golf course at this venue.
Renowned architect Nayyar Ali Dada and Messrs Nespak were entrusted with the task by the board of directors of Expo Lahore (Pvt) Limited to ensure timely completion of the centre.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi announced some time back that a multi-storey hotel and other relevant buildings would be constructed at the Lahore Expo centre and that all structures which are due to be erected here would be exempt from the height limit.
The Lahore expo centre would have a modern sewage system, while a dual carriage way would connect it to the Canal Road. A few months ago, the Punjab CM had also directed the Parks and Horticulture Authority to improve the landscape of the project site.
In April 2002, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had decided to lease out the 400 kanal Expo Centre plot in Johar Town for Rs 10 million per annum with an annual escalation of 3.33 percent.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the governing body of the authority with the incumbent City District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood in chair. The lease rate was finalised after hearing the Secretary Punjab Industries Department.