PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday issued orders for including one high-impact mega project from every region in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the next fiscal year.

“The projects with long-term impact on future generation must receive the highest priority in the next ADP. The departments should present viable proposals for including one flagship, benchmark mega project in each region,” the chief minister told a meeting on the ADP 2026-27, according to an official statement issued by his office.

The meeting reviewed in detail the proposed development portfolio of the public health engineering, irrigation and communication & works departments for the upcoming fiscal year.

During the meeting, Mr Afridi ordered the relevant departments to prepare a comprehensive province-wide plan for the rehabilitation and restoration of existing water supply and sanitation schemes, adding that full operationalisation of the current water supply infrastructure remained a top government priority.

Issues directions for rehabilitating water, sanitation schemes

The chief minister instructed that all districts be covered under the same initiative and that PC-1 documentation for all relevant schemes be finalised ahead of the budget cycle.

It read that the meeting agreed to include a dedicated scheme in the new development programme for the urgent rehabilitation of flood-affected irrigation infrastructure.

Mr Afridi directed that a detailed concept framework for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa flood resilience programme be developed and submitted for consideration, adding that the progress on ongoing dams including Sanam Dam, Chashma Akora Khattak Dam and Sarozai Dam was also reviewed.

Timely completion of the dams and accorded in-principle approval to additional proposed dam initiatives, the chief minister said adding that dams served a dual strategic purpose, flood mitigation and irrigation support and must therefore be prioritised.

The meeting decided to include in the ADP, a scheme for rehabilitation and upgrading of the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRDC) infrastructure.

The chief minister also directed that a comprehensive communication be formally conveyed to the federal government to expedite progress on the Chashma Right Bank Lift Canal Project.

He highlighted the strategic importance of CRBC project for irrigating vast tracts of land and underscored the need for adequate federal funding allocations in the forthcoming public sector development programme.

During the meeting, the chief minister instructed that existing irrigation infrastructure across all regions be made fully functional on a priority basis, while the communication & works department was directed to develop a formal scheme for the emergency restoration of flood-damaged road networks.

The chief minister ordered inclusion of schemes in the new ADP to connect Bajaur with the Swat Motorway and the Dir Motorway, the statement read, adding that road infrastructure schemes facilitating access to key tourist destinations in Abbottabad and Mansehra would be incorporated under the Hazara development package.

The chief minister also approved development initiatives in the merged districts, including flood protection works, irrigation channels, check dams and water storage reservoirs while at the same time emphasised that flood protection interventions in these areas were critical and must be prioritised in the upcoming development programme.

Senior officials from the relevant departments attended the meeting and provided detailed briefings on the proposed initiatives.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2026