ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Saturday approved 56 projects, expected to cost Rs99.8 billion including a foreign exchange component of Rs37.4 billion.
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Dr Akram Sheikh presided over the meeting.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting, a spokesman for the Planning Commission Asif Sheikh said 19 projects were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council for formal approval as their cost was over Rs500 million each. The total cost of these schemes was estimated at Rs91.3 billion or 91.5 per cent of the total projects approved.
The costs of 15 projects have been revised by Rs4.9 billion, he said. He said 41 projects would be financed by the federal government at an estimated cost of Rs70.8 billion and two projects each in Sindh and Punjab would be financed by the federal and provincial governments on a 50:50 per cent basis.
Mr Sheikh said the meeting approved Muzaffarabad City Development Project at a cost of Rs21.356 billion for the reconstruction of Azad Kashmir’s capital that was devastated by the 2005 earthquake. The Exim Bank of China would provide Rs18 billion for the project, comprising 48 different schemes in six sectors to be completed in 54 months. The project would be implemented by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority that would also take in hand another Rs1.676 billion related project for Muzaffarabad’s West Bank Bypass.
He said 25 projects costing Rs61 billion were approved in the infrastructure sector, followed by 30 schemes in social sector worth Rs37.5 billion. These included 12 projects of Rs11.3 billion in Punjab, eight projects of Rs5.7 billion in Sindh, six projects of Rs13.3 billion in the NWFP, four projects of Rs1.6 billion in Balochistan, five projects of Rs24.4 billion in Azad Kashmir and 20 other projects of Rs42.2 billion countrywide.
Bagh and Rawalakot City Development Projects and five other projects were given concept clearance.
In water sector, the CDWP cleared five projects worth Rs2.15 billion but deferred Rs6 billion Barani integrated water resources sector project for which the Asian Development Bank had offered a loan of Rs4.556 billion.
The meeting also approved about Rs35.8 billion for 11 projects in transport and communication sector, including Rs11.5 billion for upgradation of the Karakoram Highway for Bhasha Diamer Dam projects from Mansehra to the dam site, Rs10.7 billion for replacement of old signal gear of Lodhran to Shahdara Bagh railway line and Rs8.33 billion doubling of track from Khanewal to Raiwind, Sahiwal, Okara and Kasur districts of Punjab.
The CDWP also cleared 12 projects of the Higher Education Commission at a cost of more than Rs20.9 billion. They included Rs6.4 billion for PhD fellowships for 5,000 scholars, Rs5.95 billion for strengthening UET Lahore, Rs2.27 billion for strengthening NED University in Karachi and Rs3.3 billion for infrastructure development of Comsats Institute of Information Technology in Islamabad.
Four projects were approved in energy sector at a cost of Rs1.658 billion including two 132-kv grid stations at Sui and Dera Bugti in Balochistan and their transmission lines.
