LAHORE: Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique has said the government will provide land for the new campus of Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) as Phase-II programme.

Addressing the first convocation of the SIMS at the Expo Centre here on Saturday, the adviser said he would personally take up the issue of provision of land for the institute Earlier addressing the convocation, SIMS Principal Prof Hamid Mehmood Butt said the Phase-I had been completed at a cost of Rs1,394 million while PC-I of the Phase-II was approved and the land was required for the construction of thenew campus and a hostel for students.

He demanded that the government, as an interim arrangement for the hostel, should provide funds for the purchase of few residences in the vicinity of the city to accommodate students.

King Edward Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Faisal Masood also addressed the ceremony in which graduates of seven sessions from 2002 to 2013 were awarded degrees and medals.

Principals of various medical colleges, senior doctors, graduates and their parents attended the convocation.