ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: A high-level meeting held at the Planning Commission on Monday reviewed progress on development projects in Balochistan.

The meeting was attended by Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and members of his cabinet, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Raza Rabbani, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Babar Awan and Secretary General to President Salman Faruqui and representatives of relevant ministries and divisions. Among the projects discussed were highways connecting Balochistan with Sindh, Punjab and Iran and within Balochistan, gas exploration and construction of small dams.

The Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority were asked to expedite work on main highways, especially the roads connecting the Gawadar port with the rest of the country. Measures for operationalisation and optimal utilisation of the port were also reviewed.

Wapda was directed to provide electricity to the Gawadar port as soon as possible for efficient functioning of the port. The meeting decided to encourage import and export of goods through the port.

Ministries of agriculture and finance were asked to resolve the issue of import of bulldozers and their handing over to the Balochistan government. To expedite work on dams, the meeting decided that the Planning Commission would immediately write to Wapda to prepare and submit PC-1s.

About federal jobs for the province, the chief minister was informed that the Establishment Division had already advertised 1000 jobs for Balochistan and the process of recruitment would be completed in one month. Interviews for the jobs would be held in Quetta.

Mr Faruqui informed the meeting that the president had asked the Planning Commission to expedite work on projects in Balochistan and sort out issues related to funds for these projects. For the current fiscal year, the PSDP allocation for Balochistan is Rs42.5 billion.

Mr Raza Rabbani and Dr Babar Awan said that development of Balochistan was one of the top priorities of the government.

They assured the meeting that schedules for the projects would be met and funds would be released in time.

They asked relevant ministries and divisions to monitor the progress of work on these projects and send regular reports.

The chief minister and his colleagues expressed satisfaction over steps being taken by the federal government for completion of projects in Balochistan.