Development projects valued at Rs 422.7 billion are approved by CDWP.

“Of these, the CDWP forum has approved six projects valued at Rs 17.95 billion, and it recommended nine projects valued at Rs 404.754 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for its consideration,” a news release stated on Sunday.

Awais Manzur Sumra, the secretary of planning; the joint chief economist (operations); members of the planning commission; the corresponding federal secretaries; and officials from federal ministries and provincial governments attended the meeting.

Health, agriculture, the environment, human resources, governance, water resources, transportation and communication, and science and technology were among the topics covered in the summit.

The Economic Transformation Initiative, Gilgit-Baltistan Planning and Development Department, GoGB (Revised) project, valued at Rs 26,763.880 million, was referred to ECNEC by the CDWP for additional review.

Its main goal is to raise agricultural incomes and employment for at least 100,000 rural households, and it is proposed to be funded by foreign funding.

With room for additional items following a mid-term review, the initiative’s main goals are to develop 50,000 acres of irrigated land, build 400 km of farm-to-market highways, and improve the value chain of potatoes and apricots. Gilgit-Baltistan as a whole is included in the program.

The forum suggested to ECNEC another project, the Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP), which is valued at Rs 45,792.325 million and aims to improve livelihoods, reduce poverty, and create climate resilience in Badin, Sujawal, and Thatta, Sindh’s coastal districts.

Through climate-smart agriculture and fisheries, it aims to improve productivity and incorporate smallholder farmers and fishermen into value chains, thereby fostering inclusive livelihoods. Enhancing resources and job prospects for marginalised populations, such as women, youth, and the landless, as well as guaranteeing community involvement for long-term results.

A project in the governance sector, “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Mobilisation and Public Resource Management Program (Technical Assistance) (Revised),” was authorised by the CDWP forum and is valued at Rs 4713.606 million.

The Ministry of National Health Services Regulations & Coordination approved the Rs. 3110.4 million “Jinnah Medical Complex and Research Centre (PCU part)” project during the meeting as well. The 5Es Framework is in line with this phase-2 strategy, which aims to offer specialised healthcare both domestically and abroad.

In order to guarantee timely completion, DCPC Ahsan Iqbal underlined the necessity of a specialised Program Management Unit with administrative and technical know-how when speaking about the Project Coordination Unit (PCU). This will be accomplished by creating a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to manage the project lifecycle and guarantee effective planning, execution, and compliance with global standards.

After careful consideration, the forum sanctioned the Rs. 7499.804 million “Social Sector Accelerator (SSA) for Health, Nutrition, Education, Youth & Gender (HNEYG) – Prime Minister’s Youth Internship Programme (Revised).”.
MoPD&SI is in charge of the program, which is funded by PSDP and provides 30,000 paid internships for six months to recent graduates. Stipends for interns will be either R25,000 or Rs40,000 per month, depending on the updated PC-1. The ministry and their host organisations will grant certificates to participants upon completion.

For additional review, it sent a project costing Rs70,967.944 million, titled “Procurement/Manufacture of 820 High-Capacity Bogie Waggons and 230 Passenger Coaches (Revised),” to ECNEC.

Another T&C-related project, “Rehabilitation of Multan-Vehari Road,” valued at Rs 12,886.777 million, was suggested to ECNEC by the CDWP.

Additionally, a project (Revised) related to the T&C sector, “Construction of Rawalpindi Ring Road,” which was presented and valued at Rs. 32,997.054 million, was referred to ECNEC. A 38.3-kilometre main highway with interchanges, bridges, flyovers, subways, fences, toll plazas, and weigh stations will be built between Banth (N-5) and Thalian (M-2). The provincial ADP is used to finance the design, which complies with AASHTO highway requirements.

An updated T&C project, “Construction of Khawazakhela-Besham Motorway,” valued at Rs137,711.391 million, was referred to ECNEC.

Additionally, the Rs 12,069.7 million “Extension of Klm Start Point to Saggian Road and Main Ravi Bridge (Revised)” project was sent to ECNEC.

“Consultancy Services for Design and Construction Supervision of New Air Traffic Control Tower and Fire Station at Jiap Karachi” (worth Rs 465.500) and “Hiring of Consultant for RNP-AR for all-weather flight operations at Skardu, Gilgit, and Chitral airports” (worth Rs 832.015 million) are two T&C-related projects that the CDWP approved. The proposed funding for both projects will come from CAA’s own funds.

ECNEC was tasked with reviewing the Rs 18,994.65 million “Construction of Mangi Dam and Water Conveyance System (Revised)” project.

A project for Rs 46570.56 million, “Sindh Early Learning Enhancement through Classroom Transformation (Revised),” was referred to ECNEC by the Sindh government.

The forum approved “Strengthening of MoPDSI in IT,” another IT-related project valued at Rs 1334.554.