ISLAMABAD: The architectural design work of the lingering project of the National Museum of Pakistan will be completed soon to realise the dream of having a state-of-the-art museum facility at the federal capital to preserve thousands of ruining antiquities.
The consultant hired through the Public Works Department (PWD) is working on the design of the museum after which the funds required for this project will be acquired from the Planning Division, said an official of the National History and Literary Heritage (NH&LH) Division.
An amount of Rs 2.29 million was approved during the last financial year for redesigning and planning of the museum while the total estimated cost of the project is Rs 3 billion, the official said. The official said that the project of the national museum was lingering since the era of former ruler General Muhammad Ayub Khan and could not be implemented during the previous governments due to lack of focus.
Thousands of antiquities including unique sculptures of Buddhist era, clay utensils, guns of British era, oil lamps, jewelry boxes, mother goddess sculptures, lantern, handwritten holy scripts etc are ruining in the godown of the Taxila Museum and shelf of the Department of Archeology and Museums due to lack of space in the Islamabad Museum.
However, NH&LH Division since its creation took strong initiatives to revive this project and is in contact with the Planning Division to acquire funds for constructing the museum facility in the next financial year, the official said. The museum will be established at 3.24 acres land which is already acquired at Shakarparian while the foundation stone of the museum will be laid soon, he added.
