RAWALPINDI, March 20: On the last leg of its five-year tenure, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led Punjab government is borrowing a loan of $150 million from World Bank for mega development projects in five big cities, including Rawalpindi. In this regard, the provincial government has asked the City District Government Rawalpindi to submit proposals for the next three years (2013-16).

Projects costing more than Rs500 million are required to be included in the proposals. The city district governments of Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala have received similar directives.

It is strange that while government’s tenure is ending next year, it is seeking development proposals beyond that period to, what many claim, lure the voters.

“The World Bank and Punjab government negotiations are in final stages and the former will soon release funds,” said a source in the provincial finance ministry in Lahore.

He said the funds from the loan would also be allocated for the schemes which the provincial government was planning to launch during its tenure.

Acting upon the directives, DCO Rawalpindi Saqib Zafar started preparing the list of the projects and invited local members of parliament from PML-N to give their suggestions.

“We will submit our suggestions next month after consulting people in our constituencies,” said PML-N MNA Malik Shakeel Awan while talking to Dawn.

He said Leh Nullah Expressway was the only solution to traffic problems on Benazir Bhutto Road and he would suggest the provincial government to start the project.

When contacted, the DCO confirmed having received directives but claimed that their basic purpose was to seek a list of mega development projects for planning purposes. He said there was a dire need for planning of such projects.

“After getting the loan, the provincial government will allocate handsome amount for development,” he expressed the hope.

Contrary to his viewpoint, some CDGR officials feared that these projects would be stopped if the PML-N failed to form government in Punjab after the next general elections.

The officials said some mega projects of previous provincial government like Leh Nullah Expressway worth Rs22 billion and Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP) worth Rs5 billion were started on the last leg of Musharraf-led government in 2006-07. However, after formation of PML-N’s government in 2008, these projects were shelved. The Leh expressway project was inaugurated by former President Pervez Musharraf to provide hassle free vehicular movement from Rawalpindi to Islamabad.

Similarly, the REIP launched to improve sewerage system in the city and the sewage treatment plant project after taking loan from Asian Development Bank met the same fate.

Only 35 per cent work on the project was completed when it was suspended in 2008.

The officials also feared that millions of rupees to be spent on feasibility studies of these mega projects would go waste if the next government shelved them.

Giving details of the pending mega projects of previous Punjab governments, PML-Q parliamentary leader in provincial assembly Chaudhry Zaheeruddin told Dawn on telephone that the provincial government had stopped many mega projects launched by his party’s government.

“To name a few, Cardiac Centre at Wazirabad and Abdullah Flyover in Faisalabad were shelved after 2008.”

“Information Technology (IT) Tower in Lahore started during our tenure could not be completed during the last four years and now the government is planning to name it as Arfa Kareem Tower,” he said.

“Similarly, Swedish government wanted to give Rs22 billion for the establishment of a university at Lahore-Sialkot Motorway but PML-N government stopped that project too,” he regretted and added that the construction work on new building of provincial assembly was also stopped.

He also said the Pervaiz Elahi-led Punjab government started another project for the construction of Mubarak Centre in Lahore but the PML-N stopped work on it. “It would have provided 150,000 jobs to the unemployed youth had the project been completed in time,” he explained.