Faisalabad

Faisalabad

Faisalabad (also known as Lyallpur) is the 3rd largest city in Pakistan after Karachi and Lahore. It is the 2nd largest city in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center.It was one of the first planned cities within British India. Pricewaterhouse Coopers has projected Faisalabad's GDP to be around USD 87 billion by 2025.The city is also referred to as the "Manchester of Pakistan" Faisalabad is a major contributor towards Pakistan's GDP, contributing over 20%. According to the World Bank's Doing Business Report of 2010, Faisalabad was ranked as the best place to do business in Pakistan and the second best location, after Islamabad, to start a business.

The surrounding countryside, irrigated by the lower Chenab River, produces cotton, wheat, sugarcane, vegetables and fruits. The city is an industrial centre with major railway repair yards, engineering works, and mills that process sugar,flour, and oil seed. Faisalabad is a major producers of superphosphates, cotton and silk textiles, hosiery, dyes, industrial chemicals, beverages, apparels, pulp and paper, printing, agricultural equipment, and ghee (clarified butter). The city is also home to The Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry who work to monitor the industry in the city and report their findings to the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and provincial government. The city also has a major dry port.

Faisalabad is home to the University of Agriculture, Government College University as well as the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute and National Textile University. Arfa Karim, who hailed from Faisalabad, became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in the world.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Dildar Hussain and the Fateh Ali Group trace their roots back to the city. Teji Bachchan, mother to Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachan was also born in the city and spent many of her years in Lyallpur. Cricketers Saeed Ajmal and Rameez Raja started their careers in Faisalabad. Rai Bahadur Saudagar Mal Nagpal, owner of one of the largest grain exchange in the city, was made the Crown Representative by the King George V during Delhi Durbar in 1911.Sikh activists Bhagat Singh and Sunder Singh Lyallpuri also spent much of their childhood in Lyallpur.

The city also has its own cricket team, Faisalabad Wolves, who are based at the Iqbal Stadium. The city also has a hockey, snooker and athletics team who feature in international matches.