ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP): Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives/Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday chaired a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) that approved 15 different development projects.
Out of these, six projects worth Rs22.487 billion were approved at the CDWP level while nine amounting to Rs496.485 billion were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval a news release said.
The meeting was attended by Awais Manzur Sumra, Secretary Planning, along with VC PIDE, other members of the Planning Commission, Federal Secretaries, heads of Provincial Planning & Development (P&D) boards/ departments, and senior representatives from relevant Federal Ministries and Provincial Governments.
The CDWP approved four projects namely “Uplifting of Academic and Infrastructure Facilities at Hazara University, Mansehra” with the revised cost of Rs. 2804.899 million, “Establishment of Women Sub-Campus at Batkhela, University of Malakand” with the revised cost of Rs. 1341.873 million, Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships for Bangladesh, Central Asian and Friendly countries study in Pakistan (HEC)- New” worth Rs. 6637.088 million and Hostels for UET Lahore and Sub-Campuses – New” worth Rs.3357.095 million.
The minister while reviewing the projects recalled that there was a time when a large number of international students came to Pakistan for higher studies, many of whom today served as parliamentarians in their respective countries.
Expressing concern over the decline in foreign student admissions, he emphasized that Pakistan’s universities still have the capacity to attract them and should offer more scholarships, particularly targeting students from Central Asia, Africa, and other Global South countries. He underscored that higher education was a form of soft power, and attracting at least ten thousand international students would not only enhance the country’s goodwill and image abroad but also increase remittances.
He directed that a special meeting be convened to review the scholarships policy to encourage greater international enrollment.
The forum referred a project namely “System Transformation Grant (STG)-New” worth Rs10605.111 million to ECNEC for further consideration.
It approved a project namely “Jinnah Medical Complex and Research Center (JMC&RC) previously Quaid-e-Azam Health Tower Islamabad-New” worth Rs 1429.150 million.
The CDWP forwarded two projects namely “Flood Response Emergency Housing Project (Phase III) EIB/GoS Financing” worth Rs42090 million to ECNEC for further consideration.
Another project namely “AJK Legislative Assembly Complex” with the revised cost of Rs 6917.11 million was approved by the forum.
Two projects namely “Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP) – Livelihood AND Community Infrastructure – New” worth Rs. 30915.227 million were referred to ECNEC for further consideration.
While discussing the project, the Deputy Chairman of the forum, Ahsan Iqbal, formed of a committee under the Secretary of Planning to conduct a detailed review of the project before submission to ECNEC, ensuring that all requirements highlighted by the CDWP forum are fully addressed.
The CDWP referred another project namely “Karachi Water & Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP) Phase-II” to the ECNEC with the revised cost of Rs185894.093 million.
While reviewing development projects in Sindh, the minister reaffirmed that Sindh’s development initiatives remained a top priority for the federal government.
He assured that the federation is fully committed to supporting the province and is making every possible effort to meet its development needs.
During the meeting, the minister emphasized the importance of expediting the implementation of ongoing projects to ensure timely benefits for the people of Sindh.
The forum forwarded a project namely “Construction of Road from Pissan to Hoper Nagar (40KM.) (Shahrah–e–Nagar)” to the ECNEC with the revised cost of 13764.926 million.
The CDWP referred four projects namely “Dualization & Rehabilitation of DG Khan – DI Khan Section of N-55 as 4-Lane Highway (208.2KM) Package-2, Lot 3 & 4” to ECNEC with the revised cost of Rs111940.070 million; “Dualization & Rehabilitation of Rajanpur – DG Khan Section ofN-55 as 4-Lane Highway (121.50Km) Package-1, Lot 1&2” with the revised cost of Rs 63150.570 million; “Dualization & Improvement of Old Bannu Road” with the revised cost of Rs24130 million; and “Construction of Black Top Road from Duki to Chamalang with Link Road” (160 km)” with the revised cost of Rs13994.701 million to ECNEC.
The minister said the federal government has allocated the largest-ever development budget in history — Rs. 200 billion — for road infrastructure in Balochistan this year.
He urged the Balochistan government to take its own initiatives and allocate resources from its provincial budget for other projects.
He noted that it has become increasingly challenging for the federal government to accommodate the development priorities of every province within a constrained budget.
The minister expressed hope that the next Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) would be significantly larger, enabling the federal government to fully meet the development aspirations of all province.