Amritsar– The Punjab government on Sunday launched new developmental projects entailing a total expenditure of Rs 600 crore in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, while launching the projects, said special attention would be paid to the overall facelift of Amritsar and transforming it into a tourism hub.

“Amritsar has a special place because it is the holy city and Punjabi people the world over are deeply attached with it,” Badal said here.

He said the Punjab government had completed developmental projects by spending several crores of rupees in Amritsar. These included the entrance plaza near the Golden Temple complex, the entry gate for Amritsar and renovation of the historic Gobindgarh Fort.

Badal laid the foundation stone of a Rs 130-crore railway overbridge on the Tarn Taran-Amritsar road. Other projects launched by him include mechanical sweeping machines, new building of Amritsar Municipal Corporation office and solid waste management project costing a total of Rs 460 crore.