ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: The National Economic Council (NEC) will meet on March 3 to review the half-yearly performance of economy and implementation of development projects and discuss the new National Finance Commission award.

The meeting will be presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for the first time. Provincial chief ministers, NWFP governor, the prime minister of Azad Kashmir and provincial ministers for planning, finance and agriculture will attend the meeting.

The meeting will consider a four-point agenda. But officials said the meeting was also expected to kick-start discussions on the next NFC award so as to finalize it well before the next budget.

According to an agenda circulated to federal and provincial members, the NEC will consider a mid-year economic review of the annual plan 2004-05 and the Public Sector Development Programme.

The council will also examine monitoring of projects of the federal public sector development programme and consider a medium-term development framework (MTDF) 2005-10.

This will be the first meeting of the NEC during the current fiscal year, which was reconstituted by President Pervez Musharraf in November last year along with Ecnec under article 156 of the Constitution.

Under an earlier decision of the NEC, the council is to meet at least twice a year on biannual basis to speed up project implementation and take economic policy decisions.

The reconstitution of the two bodies was necessitated mainly because of the government's decision to divide many ministries to accommodate maximum number of ruling party parliamentarians in the federal cabinet.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is chairman of the top two economic decision-making bodies. Members of the NEC include ministers for commerce, communications, education, environment, food and livestock, health, housing and works, industries, information, information technology, Kashmir affairs, labour and manpower, local government, petroleum, planning and development, population welfare, ports and shipping, privatization, railways, states and frontier regions, science and technology, social welfare and special education and water and power, adviser to the prime minister on finance and deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.

Four chief ministers, ministers of finance and planning, chairmen of planning boards or additional chief secretaries would represent the provinces in the NEC. The NWFP governor will represent Fata in the NEC.

Similarly, the prime minister and ministers for finance and planning and additional chief secretary of Azad Kashmir, the State Bank governor and chairmen of Wapda and National Highway Authority would also attend NEC meetings on special invitations.

Ecnec has smaller representation as compared to the NEC. Led by the prime minister, its members include ministers for commerce, communication, education, environment, food and livestock, housing, industries, information technology, local government, labour and manpower, petroleum, planning and development, ports and shipping, privatization, railways, water and power and deputy chairman Planning Commission.