CHANDIGARH: A project to connect Sri Guru Ram Das Inter-National Airport at Raja Sansi and Holy Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) with a Mono-rail and building  world class infrastructure for the proposed Mohali International Airport form the highlights of the Asian Development Bank (ADB ) projects to promote Religious and Water Tourism in Punjab.

A high powered 3-member team from the ADB led by Ludwig G. Rieder, Team Leader, GMS sustainable Tourism RETA along with Gurmeet S. Rai, Conservation Architect Director Cultural Recourses and Aurobindo Ogra, Assistant Manager Tourism, Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. Saturday met the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and asked for detailed project reports in this regard to be submitted within the next ten days.

In the meeting Punjab Toursim Minister Hira Singh Gabria, Media Advisor to Chief Minister  H S Bains, Chief Secretary  R.I.Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister  D.S Guru, Principal Secretary Tourism Geetika Kalha, Principal Secretary Power  Suresh Kumar, Secretary PWD  Karan Avtar Singh, Secretary Housing and Urban Development  Arun Goyal, Secretary Local Govt. M.P. Singh   and Principal Chief Conservative Forest and Wild Life  B.C. Bala were also present.

In addition to these projects the ADB also agreed to finance major Religious and Water Tourism  including Roads connecting the Raja Sansi Airport to the Grand Trunk Road ( G.T. Road), Ajnala – Dera Baba Nanak – Gurdaspur, Banga-Garshankar-Anandpur Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi-Goindwal Sahib-Khadur Sahib and Beas. The ADB would also help in promoting infrastructure on the Pilgrim Circuit comprising Sri Hargobindpur-Qadian-Guman, Sultanpur Lodhi-Khadur Sahib-Goindwal, Dera Baba Nanak-Batala and Anandpur Sahib-Chamkaur Sahib-Kiratpur Sahib- Fatehgarh Sahib.

The ADB would also help the Punjab Government to fill existing gaps in the elevated road project in Amritsar. In addition to this the entire city would be given a face lift for visitor's movement, management and facilitation by developing projects related to decongestion of the walled city.

Apart from this ADB would also help to promote Natural Heritage Tourism for which seven Eco Tourism sites were identified with the focus on wetlands and rivers including the two Ramsar sites of Harike and Ropar wet lands.