LAHORE (HANDOUT ) - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the Punjab government has evolved a splendid project of setting up a Knowledge Park over 800 acres of land in Lahore.
He was talking to a delegation of Louisville University of America, on Thursday. He said that separate campuses of information technology university, engineering, medicine and other fields will be set up in the Knowledge Park. He said that a state-of-the-art liver and kidney centre will also be established in the park
Shahbaz Sharif said that prestigious foreign educational institutions have expressed interest in establishing campuses of their universities in the Knowledge Park.
“The Punjab government has taken revolutionary steps for the development of education and health sectors. Education is the key to progress and development and only those nations have prospered as have paid due attention to education sector,” the CM held.
The chief minister said that in addition to education, the Punjab government is also attaching top priority to the provision of health facilities to the masses and promotion of medical education. He said that the steps taken for development of education and health sectors are yielding positive and encouraging results.
“Research has a fundamental importance in education and health sectors and there is a need for paying due attention to modern research for improving health facilities. The project of setting up of Knowledge Park in the provincial metropolis is of vital importance,” said Shahbaz Sharif.
“Knowledge Park is a unique project where prominent local and foreign educational institutions will set up their campuses while a liver and kidney centre will also be established. A plan has also been evolved for establishing a research institute at the centre,” the CM added.
He said that modern hospital set up in Muzaffargarh, a backward district of South Punjab, with the cooperation of Turkey, will start functioning from June 2014 as a result of which modern healthcare facilities will become available to the people of South Punjab. He said that Punjab government would set up new hospitals in the province on the model of this hospital.
Professors of the Louisville University appreciated the steps taken by Shahbaz Sharif for the development of education and health sectors and said that it will leave a far-reaching impact on these sectors. They also expressed interest in setting up a medical institute at the Knowledge Park.
Matters regarding improvement of education and health sectors were also discussed in the meeting. Provincial Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Secretary Higher Education and concerned officers were present on the occasion.
The delegation of the Louisville University included Prof Craig H Blakely, Prof Kathy B Baumgartner, Prof Peter L Walton, Prof Rasul Ramji, Shahima Rehman, Tariq Rehman, Dr Haroon Ahsan and Salim Rehman.