ISLAMABAD, Jan 31: A meeting here on Tuesday would discuss and likely approve 32 development projects worth Rs69.3 billion, including the Rs15.8 billion project of manufacturing 100 new locomotives and procuring them for Pakistan Railways.
The Balancing, Modernization and Replacement (BMR) of banknote printing and finishing machinery of Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) at a cost of Rs5.3bn is also on the meeting's agenda.
Official sources told Dawn that the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) of the Planning Commission would mainly approve projects in the field of science and technology, water resources, energy, physical planning & housing, environment, governance, industries & commerce, mass media, education, social welfare, transport & communication and railways.
Expansion of the Pakistan Steel Mills production capacity from 1.1m tons to 1.5m tons would also be discussed and approved by the meeting. Doubling of railway track on Shahdara Bagh-Lalamusa section and Khanewal-Raiwand section are other two important projects to be approved by the CDWP. They will cost Rs9bn.
Similarly, procurement/manufacturing of 1000 high freight wagons (Rs4.7bn) and procurement of 150 passenger carriages (Rs6bn) are also on the list of projects to be okayed by the meeting. Also included in the list is the doubling of railway track from Lahore to Faisalabad, a project which would cost Rs4.6bn.
OTHER PROJECTS TO BE APPROVED ARE: Strengthening of the National Centre of Excellence in Geology, Peshawar University (Rs693.8m), construction of central academic block and central literary building of Kohat University of Science and Technology (Rs170.9m), infrastructure facility for support of research activities in design & manufacturing of mechanical equipment (Rs462m), environmental rehabilitation and poverty reduction through participatory management in Tarbella Reservoir catchment (Rs532.4m), establishment of specialised medium-range weather forecasting centre for development of social economy (Rs554.2m), integrated land management project in district Bagh, Azad Kashmir (Rs96m), integrated land management project in district Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir (Rs91.8m), feasibility study of Chor Nullah Power Project (Rs196.6m), feasibility study of Spath Gah Hydro-Power Project (Rs177.7m), hydro-geological investigation in Nowshera (Rs66.6m), improvement of water supply and sewerage/drainage system, Rawalpindi (Rs188.8m), Essential Institutional Reform Operationalization Programme Phase-II, NWFP government, (Rs144.2m), construction of office building for the Federal Service Tribunal in Islamabad (Rs114.8m), adoption of social accountability project (Rs116m), FM Network Phase-I (16 FM stations) (Rs449.5m), Debt Education SWAP-2, NWFP (Rs928.6m), improvement of the existing building of secondary/higher secondary school, Islamabad (Rs161.3m), piloting an approach for social inclusion in Islamabad (Rs3.7m), replacement of old and obsolete signal gear on the Kotri-Rohri section (Rs3.2bn), rehabilitation of existing Lahore-Khaniwal electric section (Rs368m), extension of electric traction from Khanewal to Samastta double-line section (Rs2.6bn), feasibility study for rail link from Kundian to D.I. Khan-Bannu-Peshawar via Kohat (Rs10m) and feasibility study for rail link from Bostan-Zhob-D.I.Khan-Bannu to Peshawar (Rs10m).