August 11, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-us-Sani 12, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meets here on Monday to approve around 13 projects, predominantly in Sindh, at a total cost of more than Rs28 billion, a senior government official told Dawn.

To be presided over by deputy chairman Planning Commission Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, the Ecnec will also discuss quarterly report on the position of schemes dealt with by the provincial development working parties (PDWPs) during the period of January to March 2003.

The sources said the largest project on agenda involving Rs13 billion — revamping and rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage system in Sindh — is expected to generate heated discussion.

None of the schemes included in the project envisage concreting of the canals and water courses which means that simple cleaning and lining of these canals and courses would need a further funding in the next couple of years, the sources said.

The project has a foreign exchange component of Rs542 million and is aimed at improving the operational efficiency by ensuring the safety of the canal system and delivering due share of water to the farmers at the tail reaches of the canals with adequate drainage cover.

The project envisages strengthening of 8,082 kilometre (2,967 million cubic feet earthwork) of canal and drain banks, silt clearance of 3,685-km, stone pitching of canal bank 380-km, remodelling of 241 regulators, rehabilitation of 201 bridges, repair and extension of 11,725 modules, revamping of 1493 SCARP tubewells, re-boring of 103 and replacement of 211 transformers and resectioning of 568-km surface drains.

The entire cost of the project will be funded by the federal government which will be completed by June 2007. The project is part of a 10-year perspective development plan (2001-11).

The cabinet had also decided that PC-1 part-II of lining of channels costing Rs17 billion should be forwarded to the federal ministry of water and power for clearance by CDWP and Ecnec.

The culturable command area of Sindh is about 5.38 million hectares, 14 irrigation canals off-take from three barrages located on the Indus river, at Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri, having a length of 2083-km with peak discharge of 150,000 cusecs.

The total length of channels off-taking from these canals is 18,277-km. Irrigation and drainage systems of Sindh are deteriorating because of accumulated deferred maintenance which results in frequent breaching of canal banks and clogging of irrigation channels and drains with sediment and debris.

The Ecnec is also expected to approve Rs2.7 billion Karachi Northern Bypass. The project is already in progress with almost 50 per cent work already completed.

The meeting would also approve Rs2 billion Telecommunication Regulation and Privatisation Project, including a World Bank loan of Rs1.2 billion to enable the government to pull out of the telecom business. The annual recurring expenditures have been estimated at Rs548 million, including a foreign exchange component of Rs60 million.

The project was initially started in 1996 with a total cost of Rs1.4 billion and was scheduled to be completed by the year 2000. However, the project was delayed unnecessarily by around four years resulting in a 27 per cent or Rs420 million increase in the project cost.

This has also led to delayed procurement of essential major parts of equipment required for management and monitoring systems, delayed training of FAB staff and ultimately to delayed process of deregulation, policy reforms and privatization of the telecom sector and licensing of new operators.

With the implementation of the project, the government would be relieved of its major responsibility of telephone and would be confined to regulatory function through Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and provision of spectrum monitoring and security to sensitive communications through the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB).

The project headquarters would be located at Islamabad to which the four regional offices would be linked with computer and data network and the regulatory control would be applicable to the whole of Pakistan.

Under the project, regional licensing offices would be located at Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta while VHF/ UHF monitoring and DF stations at Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Quetta.

Similarly, MF/HF monitoring and DF stations would be located at Wani, near Islamabad and Ghaggar, near Karachi while the Satellite Monitoring Station at Wani.

The Ecnec is also expected to approve the development of sector Ramna-13 (G-13) of the Federal Government Housing Foundation (FGEHF) in Islamabad at a total cost of Rs3.1 billion.

The FGEHF has made a commitment with the Ecnec that it would not burden the allottees with additional development charges and would rather refund some amount to them because a reasonable surplus would be available after completion of the development work.

The summary for the Ecnec available with Dawn suggests that overall rate of residential plots being charged from the allottees of G-13 is Rs1550 per sq. yard. On this basis, total recoveries are estimated at Rs4.448 billion. After meeting the development cost of Rs3.1 billion, a surplus of Rs1.342 billion is expected for meeting the unforeseen expenditures.

The meeting would also accord ex-post facto approval to the Rs1.85 billion Paksat-1, a project under which Pakistan hired a satellite stations last year and would continue running into losses for its entire life.

The Ecnec will also approve Rs1.48 billion Rural Digital Communications Uplift Project Phase-II for Azad Kashmir besides establishment of Rs1.089 billion Environmental Monitoring System in Pakistan.

Another Rs1.371 billion project, PCSIR-Industrial Linkage Programme (Food, Textile, Material Sciences, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals) would also be approved by the Ecnec.

The meeting would also approve Rs445 million Establishment of 350 Community Schools in Hard-to-Reach Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Rs240 million Establishment of National Education Assessment System (NEAS) in Pakistan.