LAHORE: The Lahore Zoo will remain closed to public for three months from Nov 7 for its revamp and uplift, it is learnt here.

The Punjab government is showing keen interest in the uplift of Lahore Zoo and Zoo Safari. On the directions of Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, many facilities and new animals will be introduced both at the zoo and safari. Civil works and other uplifting of the zoo will be carried out during the closure. Both the projects will be completed in two years.

Director Lahore Zoo Azeem Zafar tells Dawn that a sum of Rs1,836.469 million (Rs1.836 billion) will be spent on the revamping project. Mr Zafar says under the project, parking area of the zoo will be extended and there will be a computerised and app-based parking propelledwith artificial intelligence. There will be glass enclosures for leopards, lions and tigers having such depth that people could step deep into the enclosure along with a modern food court and a hologram zoo. Construction of a vet hospital, improvement of large mammal enclosures such as hippo, rhino, giraffe andbear and redesigning of monkey house will also be carried out, he adds.

The modern food court will also have an amphitheater, he says adding that there will be rehabilitation of office buildings along with construction of an auditorium.

The animals to be purchased under the revamp project are a pair of panda, afemale rhino, a male hippopotamus, a trio of giraffe, a pair of African penguin, a male black jaguar, a pair of rhea, a trio of scimitar oryx, a pair of puma, a trio of smooth coated otter, a trio of Sindh ibex, two trio of Chiltan markhor, a pair of addax, a trio of nyala, a trio of gemsbol<, a trio of sable, a trio of eland, a trio of bleskob, a trio of springbok, two trio of black mangabey monkey, two trio of capuchin monl(ey, two trio of de brazza`s monkey, two trio of lemur, two trio of patas monkey, two trio of mona monkey, two trio of spider monkey, two trio of sika deer, a trio of Arabian oryx. There will be variety of parakeets, pheasants and peafowl, turtles and tortoises and snakes.

To a question, the director says animais will be shifted [during the revamp] to different captive breeding wildlife facilities at various places in Punjab.

Deputy Director Publicity Wildlife and Parks Department Mudassar Hassan says the projectincludes construction of tiger houses, a mammal enclosure, a wildlife rehabilitation centre, development of Salt Range thematic area and desert thematic area and a new hightech fish aquarium.