ISLAMABAD: The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) meets today to finalise around Rs1.4 trillion development programme, aimed at achieving 5.5 per cent economic growth rate for the next fiscal year.

The meeting, to be presided over by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, would be attended by ministers for development from all the provinces, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Fata.

A senior official told Dawn that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was expected to join the meeting in an attempt to finalise a development programme that could sail smoothly through the National Economic Council (NEC), to be presided over by the prime minister and to be attended by all the chief ministers.

He said the Planning Commission was still insisting on increasing the federal public sector development programme beyond Rs600 billion to accommodate around Rs250bn worth of additional projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the energy sector, but the finance minister was not willing to allocate more than Rs580bn due to his commitments with international lending agencies.

Although Sindh had not yet conveyed its final size of the annual development programme, the overall provincial development size was expected at around Rs800bn, he said.

The official said the allocation for the power sector in the PSDP was being increased by about 80pc to Rs113.6bn for the next year, against current year’s allocation of Rs63.6bn, to accelerate power projects so that the government’s promise of ending load-shedding by end-2017 could be realised.

Likewise, the allocations for the National High Way Authority (NHA) were also being enhanced by almost 40pc to Rs150bn for the next year against Rs111.6bn earmarked for the current fiscal year to speed up and support some of the key projects of the CPEC.

The official said the PSDP for the federal ministries was going to be reduced for the first time to make room for some priority projects in CPEC and the energy sector. The allocation for federal ministries to protect their ongoing projects was being kept at Rs298.93bn against current year’s Rs299.8bn.

Inflation was targeted at 6pc for the next three years, against 4.8pc during current year. The target for debt-to-GDP ratio that stood at 63pc this year would be set at 61.5pc of GDP next fiscal year.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2015

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