Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif today launched the Lahore safe city project.
Under this project by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA), 8,000 CCTV cameras are being installed in nearly 2,000 locations.
Locations include public institutions, key infrastructure, public roads, crime hotspots, VVIP routes, entry & exit points and public places.
Shehbaz Sharif has termed it as Asia’s biggest safe city project.
Chinese technology firm, Huawei, had won the bidding and is implementing this project worth Rs 12 billion.
This writer has highlighted the lack of police readiness on several occasions, including his piece on Pakistan 2050. Some of the tweets are:
#Islamabad #Pakistan Blue Area firing highlights lack of #police #readiness/ #preparedness and #scenarioplanning
— Wali Zahid (@walizahid) August 15, 2013
When circus over, Nawaz may need to disband current police system & recreate a new force. Said this after KHI airport attack. @MaryamNSharif
— Wali Zahid (@walizahid) September 2, 2014
.@AnsarAAbbasi reform won't work. Need new police – from scratch
— Wali Zahid (@walizahid) December 26, 2014
More on Lahore:
Rs 154B Orange Line Metro Train for Lahore
Lahore’s road to nowhere
e-ticketing on Green Line train from Islamabad to Karachi
The Punjab Safe City Project (also called PPIC3 centre) was initiated to ensure security of the masses and help resolve traffic woes.
The project aims to take the security to the next level and help stop the violation of traffic rules.
According to PSCA, under this project, round-the-clock monitoring will be conducted through control and command centre.
The project will bring Lahore at par with the big cities of the developed world.
Also: 2050: What if cities ruled the world?
The Lahore safe city project has five tiers:
Integrated Emergency Response
Counter Terrorism Surveillance
Intelligent Traffic Management System
4G/LTE-A Communication
Accountable Law Enforcement
Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA)
The PSCA, established under the Punjab Safe Cities Ordinance 2015, ensures establishment, development and maintenance of an integrated command, control and communication system, called PPIC3, for police in major cities for public safety.
The safe city is a concept for returning security and quality of life to today’s complex cities through the use of technology, infrastructure, personnel and processes.
More on other Pakistani cities
Karachi to be 7th largest megacity by 2030: UN
Groundbreaking of Karachi’s Green Line Bus project
Karachi to get 26km Yellow Line bus service in 2 years
Karachi 6th least liveable city in the world
Peshawar is the world’s second most polluted city
Quetta and Peshawar among 20 most terrorist prone cities in the world
Karachi’s Killers by FP’s Ivan Sigal
Karachi airport attack ‘humiliating security breach for army, spy service’: NYT
Karachi gets its first female SHO
Pakistan world’s least expensive country: World Bank
Future safe cities in Punjab (PPIC3 centres)
After the Lahore pilot, six more cities are planned as the next PPIC3 centres:
Rawalpindi
Multan
Bahawalpur
Gujranwala
Sargodha
Faisalabad
Police helpline: 15
Police needs to be reformed and upgraded… Wali on Pakistan 2050.
Have you seen CPEC stories on this blog?
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects
16 CPEC projects in Balochistan, 8 in KPK: Chinese Embassy
Chinese Embassy shares progress on CPEC projects
40 CPEC projects in 4 photos & 60 seconds
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects pick up pace
CPEC gets 4-layer security as Gwadar to be weapon-free
China’s world-reshaping One Belt, One Road (OBOR)
During Shehbaz Sharif’s Punjab tenure, it’s another first for Lahore. Some other firsts for Lahore are:
Lahore Metro BRT bus
Lahore Orange Line Metro Train
e-ticketing on Lahore-Rawalpindi trains
PS: PSCA needs to get a common-sensical website (invest in UI/UX). It was painful getting information from your website.
Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series
Wali on The Pakistan 2050 Opportunity
Wali on Pakistan of future
A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50
Pakistani culture through 6-D Model
Native languages in Pakistan
How future oriented are we?
How we messed up Pakistan: A series by Wali
Pakistan’s two value crimes no one talks about
What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance