ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to launch several major development projects in Islamabad, including a cricket stadium, convention center and what it says will be Asia’s largest safari park, as it prepares to host a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit next year, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday.

The announcements came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated a Rs1.45 billion ($5.24 million) underpass in the capital, part of a broader infrastructure development effort ahead of the August 2027 summit, which will bring together leaders of the 10-member regional bloc, including China, Russia and India.

“We are going to build the biggest safari park in Asia,” Naqvi said at the inauguration ceremony, adding that an international consultant had been hired and work was expected to begin in January.

“We will start the work of the Convention Center in the next 15 days,” he said.

Naqvi also announced plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a new cricket stadium next week, saying he would seek the prime minister’s availability for the event.

“These are three or four big projects that we will start in the next 10-12 days,” he said, expressing hope that the government would complete them on schedule.

Pakistan assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO for 2026-27 in September and is scheduled to host the bloc’s Council of Heads of State summit in Islamabad next August.

The gathering will be the second major SCO event hosted by Pakistan in three years, following an October 2024 meeting of the Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad, which was attended by senior officials, including Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

The SCO, established in 2001, brings together China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus and four Central Asian states, with cooperation spanning regional security, trade, connectivity and economic development.

Sharif, who inaugurated the Kashmir Chowk Underpass, said the project had been completed in 27 days and would help ease traffic congestion in the capital.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that there is no traffic problem in Islamabad,” the prime minister said, linking the development work to preparations for the summit.

Naqvi said the government also intended to expand green spaces and recreational facilities in Islamabad, adding that 6,340 trees had been planted as part of the underpass project.

“This city will be a different city before the SCO conference,” he said.