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ISLAMABAD: The Rs730 billion Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for fiscal 2011-12, unveiled by Federal Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in the National Assembly on Friday is 12 per cent more the current year’s size, but since its funding is again partially attached to foreign assistance it may be slashed like the current fiscal PSDP.
In the real terms the total PSDP outlay for the next fiscal is only Rs10 billion more than Rs720 billion allocated in the current fiscal, which had to be slashed during the course of year due to various reasons.
One salient feature of the new PSDP is that since this is first after the implementation of 18th Amendment. Rs430 billion has been set aside for the provinces, which include the amounts required for the 18 federal ministries that have to be devolved by end of current fiscal year. This means Rs300 billion will be left for the federal development initiative and 90 per cent of it will be spent on completion of ongoing projects.
If the allocation of Rs10 billion set aside for Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) is deducted the total federal PSDP comes to Rs290 billion.
As the government cut country’s development projects by Rs100 billion due to financial crunch, it failed to utilise about Rs47bn of an internationally-mandated fund collected from telecom companies for provision of telecom facilities in remote areas. The key features of the development priorities set in the PSDP include completion of on going projects in infrastructure especially energy, higher education; continuation of vertical programs for health and education.
An allocation of Rs33.2 billion or 12 per cent of the total PSDP has been allocated for water sector projects, including completion of Mangla Raising, Satpara Multipurpose Dam (Gilgit-Baltistan), Gomalzam Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kachhi Canal (Balochistan), Rainee Canal (Sindh), and Lower Indus Right BankCanal.
An allocation of Rs32.5 billion is planned for power generation, transmission, distribution and conservation. Apart from this there will be an investment of Rs83 billion, which Wapda and Pepco will make through their own resources.
Rs18 billion have been allocated for Diamir Bhasha Dam and Rs10.8 billion will be spent on Neelum Jhelum project of 1,000MW. The minister also unveiled restructuring of public sector enterprises (PSEs) during the next fiscal, adding that the PSEs inefficiency is choking the national economy.
The cabinet committee set up last year has developed a restructuring model based on a professional board of directors and by inducting professional management from the market.
