PESHAWAR: The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has approved 10 projects for the development of various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PDWP meeting was held at the Planning and Development Department with additional chief secretary Khalid Pervez in the chair on Wednesday, according to a handout.

While considering a total of 16 projects under the ADP 2014-15, the forum approved 10 of them with an estimated cost of Rs1.5 billion. The meeting was attended by the administrative secretaries and senior staff of the planning and development, finance, environment, C&W, LG&RD, elementary and secondary education, higher education, health, industries, relief and rehabilitation, and irrigation departments.

Approval of six projects was deferred due to unavailability of detailed information and supporting documents. The departments were directed to take further time to improve the project documents with proper planning and cost estimation so that the projects could be executed smoothly without any problem. The forum directed that in future the consultants should accompany the department for presenting the detailed design to the PDWP.

The approved projects include continuation of ongoing ADP schemes for completion in 2014-15, consultancy for construction of girls hostel at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal, Upper Dir, provision of mobile medical services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, improvement/construction of eight-kilometer road from Kirai to Mole Sar, Besham tehsil.

The list also includes the improvement and construction of 10-kilometre road from Sasobay to Kormang, Shangla; construction of flood protection structure and rehabilitation of drainage system along Badri Nullah, Parthogai drainage system Indus River and other small tributaries in Swabi district;

rehabilitation and improvement of canal and patrol road/bridges along Pehur Main Canal and its sub-system in Swabi district; establishment of government colleges in the province besides some other projects. The next PDWP meeting would be held after two weeks.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2014