ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party approved on Thursday eight development projects at an estimated cost of Rs4.7 billion.

A meeting of the CDWP presided over by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal referred another four projects worth Rs33bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council for approval.

The CDWP approved a project worth Rs173 million for providing health insurance to poor people in district Gilgit.

The meeting recommended to the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet a Rs22.8bn project for integration of health services delivery with focus on child health, lady health workers and nutrition programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It approved improvement and reconditioning of the 52km Noseri Leswa bypass road at Neelum Valley, Muzaffarabad district, which would cost Rs965m; 40km improvement, metalling and blacktopping of Athmuqam Karen bypass road at a cost of Rs842m and construction of a flyover at Koyla Phatak in Quetta at a cost of Rs1.4bn.

The CDWP approved the Balochistan Small Scale Irrigation Project at a cost of Rs2.2bn and a project worth Rs6.2bn for the establishment and operation of basic education community schools in the country (2012-16).

It gave concept approval of a technology park development project at Islamabad at a cost of Rs5.4bn to help improve performance of the information technology sector.

It approved a Rs162m joint institution cooperation project with Norway in the sector of culture, sports and tourism.