ISLAMABAD, April 22: The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECNEC) headed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has approved 22 development projects which will cost Rs53.7billion.

“The National Finance Commission (NFC) will also provide an additional Rs52billion to the provinces in the next budget and will enable them to allocate more funds for development projects,” Mr Aziz told a meeting here on Saturday which was also attended by representatives of the provinces.

“The cabinet’s committee decided that in the next budget’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) funds would be allocated to acquire land for the five major dams, including Kalabagh, announced by President Gen Pervez Musharraf a few months back,” said Dr Akram Shaikh, the Planning Commission’s deputy chairman.

Of the 22 development projects, 10 will be carried out in Sindh, three in Punjab, two each in the NWFP and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), one in Balochistan and four all over the country.

The projects will also include Rs10.5 billion foreign aid.

Sources said the prime minister had directed all the stakeholders to ensure balanced expenditures after he was informed that demand for money had always come in May - a period during which budget making remains in process.

Mr Aziz said departments like health and population welfare must ensure that they floated tenders for various procurements much before May.

The high prices of cement were also discussed in the meeting. The committee asked the ministry of industries to ensure a considerable reduction in the price of the commodity next week, because cheaper cement from other countries had already started arriving after the government allowed its duty-free import.

The meeting was informed that the Oct 8 earthquake and increase in international oil prices had put great pressure on the country’s economic growth. In order to minimise the pressure of hike in the international oil prices on domestic consumers, the government had so far paid Rs1billion.