KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to conduct a feasibility study of 10 potential tourist sites and identify more sites for promoting tourism in the province through public-private partnerships.
The tourism sites for which the feasibility study will be carried out are Ranikot in the Jamshoro district, Gorakh Hill Station in the Dadu district, Drigh and Langh Lakes in Kambar-Shahdadkot, Keenjhar Lake in Thatta, Nagarparkar in Tharparkar, Achhrro Thar in Sanghar, Mohenjodarro in Larkana, Sehwan, Bhit Shah, Drigh and Lab-e-Mehran/Sadhbelo in Sukkur and the coastal belt of the province.
The decision to this effect was taken in a tourism and culture department meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah. It was attended by Tourism and Culture Secretary Ghulam Akbar Laghari, the secretaries of the planning & development, implementation & coordination departments, and officials of Public-Private Partnership Unit of the government.
The chief secretary said the province carried great potential of tourism, which needed to be developed. “The Sindh government wants to develop facilities for the tourists so that tourism could flourish not only at the already existing sites but at several other sites, which have so far been neglected,” he said and added that such sites would be surveyed with the help of the private sector.
He said the private sector would be involved to develop the tourist sites like Gorakh Hills, Keenjhar Lake, resorts at Indus River like Al-Manzar Jamshoro, Lab-e-Mehran in Sukkur, coastal areas, Nagarparkar and other similar sites.
He directed the works and services department to repair the roads leading to the Ranikot and Nagarparkar at the earliest so that the tourists visiting these places did not face any problem.
Culture & Tourism Secretary Akbar Laghari said in his briefing that the feasibility study of Lab-e-Mehran and Gorakh Hills had already been carried out, while there were plans to build a theme park at Mohenjodaro and construction of low-cost hotels in Sehwan, Keenjhar, Karoonjhar Mountains in Thar and other places for the tourists.
The Chief Secretary directed the culture & tourism to present the feasibility study of Gorakh Hills and Lab-e-Mehran at the next meeting. He also directed the officials of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit to incorporate tourism in the agenda of the PPP-Policy Board.
