President General Pervez Musharraf has said the government is striving to project soft image of Pakistan through promotion of culture, tourism and sports. He was addressing a large gathering here on Sunday at Mangla View Resort launching ceremony. He said the inauguration of Mangla View Resort will prove to be a milestone for promotion of domestic and international tourism.
The President said the government has launched a series of projects to promote the tourism, including investment-friendly policies to encourage construction of hotels.
He said the Manlga View Resort is Pakistan's first quality resort, which will be a jewel in the crown of Pakistan tourism industry. It will not only give new dimension to healthy recreational activities and promote tourism, but also generate economic activity in the country, he added.
Musharraf said: "Once the project is completed in a few years time, there will be a major change in the mindset of the people about how to spend their leisure time, and I am sure that people with exquisite taste and good aesthetic sense will have life time experience while coming to Mangla."
He extended special appreciation for the Punjab government, the Tourism Ministry, Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor, Mangla View Resort CEO Major Anur Adam (Retd), Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Javed Alam and the Jhelum District Nazim for their commitment and extending their patronage in development of the Mangla View Resort.
Lieutenant-General Javed Alam Khan, in his address of welcome, said that Mangla View Resort will be a wonderful tourist resort as well as having residential area along with recreational facilities.
He said that Mangla is blessed with plenty of natural beauty, which makes it very attractive for the people from all walks of life.
Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor said that Mangla View Resort is the most ambitious resort development in Pakistan with a total developing cost of $2 billion.
He hoped that Mangla View Resort will be the catalyst for domestic tourism and will become an international tourist resort destination. He complimented the government for initiation this project.
It may be mentioned that Mangla View Resort is being constructed on 324-acre of land directly facing Mangla Lake. It is capable of housing 609 units of Banglows each 4,000 square feet, 110 units semi-detached houses, 179 units apartments, 90 units chalets.
It will also provide a facility of two hotels (total 500 rooms), a club house of 12,000 square feet covered area. The Mangla View Resort will also have the facility of international level water sports club and 18-hole Golf Club. It will also provide the facility of riding club and extreme games park.
The first phase of the project will be completed in mid-2007 and the project will be finally completed by end of 2009.
The administration of the Mangla View Resort also makes a contribution to President's Earthquake Relief Fund.
A cheque of Rs 10 million was presented to the President by Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor and Mangla View Resort CEO Major Anur Adam (Retd). Earlier, on arrival at Mangla View Resort President General Pervez Musharraf cut the ribbon and unveiled the plaque to formally inaugurate the project.
Punjab Governor Lieutenant-General Khalid Maqbool (Retd), Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Minister of State for Tourism Sumera Malik also accompanied the President during the launching ceremony.