LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif announced on Sunday the establishment of Punjab Film City at the Nawaz Sharif IT City, Lahore, which will span over 50 acres of land.
She said the Film City project is Pakistan’s first complete ‘end-to-end’ media production hub. She added that revival of Pakistan’s film industry will be ensured through modern technology, facilities and resources, as modern facilities for film, TV, animation and digital media will be provided under one roof. She underscored that foreign dependency for VFX and post-production will be reduced as modern studios, sound stages and post-production labs are also included in the Film City project.
The chief minister said all necessary facilities for shooting, sets and a central lake will be built, besides establishing convention halls for international events and award shows. She added that a media trade hub and a film and music school will also be part of the Film City project, which will generate thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities. She highlighted that the modern film city will promote sectors like animation, gaming and digital media, as it is a significant breakthrough for promotion of creative economy. She added the Punjab Film City will provide a platform for talent, technology, and business and the project will be completed in phases.
Separately, CM Maryam Nawaz expressed concern over unregulated traffic trends and set a target to ensure strict adherence to lane discipline across major cities, including Lahore.
Chairing a special meeting, she decided to develop major roads into model traffic corridors and directed the authorities to ensure immediate improvements in traffic management. She ordered strict enforcement of lane and line discipline, elimination of roadside parking and zero tolerance against violations such as one-way breaches.
The CM also directed that an extensive public awareness campaign be launched to educate citizens about lane discipline, while monitoring would be carried out through cameras installed on mobile traffic vehicles.
Taking notice of zigzag driving, the CM ordered that motorcycles involved in such violations be impounded at police stations for three days. The chief minister assigned the Chief Traffic Officer (CTO), Lahore, the task of bringing visible improvement in the city’s traffic system.
During the briefing, the participants were informed that the traffic police had issued over 500,000 challans and impounded more than 100,000 vehicles over the past six months.
Stressing the need for strict implementation of traffic laws, the chief minister said that preventing underage driving on both major and minor roads was essential to ensure compliance.
