Inclusion of soybean and maize projects CPEC important steps: IUB Vice Chancellor

Bahawalpur: The inclusion of soybean and maize projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and many such initiatives were important steps towards self-sufficiency, Vice Chancellor of Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB) Professor Dr Athar Mahboob said.

In a statement, he mentioned that “achieving royalties from the sale of university-produced cotton seeds, intra-cropping technology, the inclusion of soybean and maize projects in the CPEC” were key initiatives.

Mahboob maintained that Jamia Islamia was playing key role in the social and economic development of Bahawalpur.

In a short span of 20 months, he emphasized, the number of students of the University has “increased from 13,000 to 53,000 which is great support for the economy of the Bahawalpur division, especially the city of Bahawalpur.”

The Vice Chancellor informed that the economy of the University had increased from Pakistani Rs 3 to 7 billion and 2000 new jobs had been created in the same volume. “The development budget which was Rs 2.8 billion has now increased to Rs 1200 billion,” he stated.

The Vice-Chancellor underlined that the construction and development work of new buildings was underway on the campus besides opening of new campuses of the University in the surrounding areas.

The Vice Chancellor underscored that the University had become a fourth-generation university in the form of a team as per a vision that was playing a key role in teaching and research as well as community development.

He opined that the second phase of the CPEC will bring a revolution in the Pakistani agriculture sector.