GUJRAT: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan have agreed to work together on a new project, Economic and Social Development through Conservation of Shah Burj in the Walled City of Lahore.

The agreement was signed by Tore Nedrebø, the Norwegian Ambassador, and Mr Salman Beg, the chief executive officer of the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP) in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Norwegian ministry through the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Islamabad, will be providing a grant of NOK 9 million (approximately USD1.14 million) to AKCSP from July 2017 till December 2019.

The grant goes towards the conservation of the Shah Burj, a section of the Lahore Fort that encompasses a portion of the Picture Wall, as well as the Summer Palace and Sheesh Mahal.

The project includes emergency stablisation and conservation of the built fabric, the establishment of the Summer Palace Museum and a redesigned tourism management plan for the fort.

The work will be carried out with the facilitation and partnership of the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA).

According to a Norwegian embassy official, this project is significant as 2017 marks the 25th year of Norwegian partnership with the AKDN in the field of improving lives through harnessing the economic and social development aspects of heritage.

It builds on the lasting impact of tangible improvements in the quality of life in the communities of the Walled City of Lahore, which are already evident as a result of earlier Norwegian-supported conservation projects such as the Mughal-era Shahi Hammam and the north façade of the Wazir Khan mosque.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has been working in Lahore since 2007 through its affiliate AKCSP, and has to its credit 14 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation; two in the Walled City of Lahore for the Shahi Hammam and the Gali Surjan Singh, and 12 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2017