The bill regarding the establishment of the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Authority, intended to replace the Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD), is currently under review following the government’s order to abolish the Pak-PWD.
On June 4, 2024, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the abolition of PWD owing to poor performance and widespread corruption.
According to an official document shared by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB), Federal Cabinet has approved abolishment of Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD) at a meeting of federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.
Pakistan Infrastructure Development and Asset Management Authority will be created under a special Act to replace Pak-PWD.
Under the approved plan, Asset and Facility Management Company will be established to contintheaintenance and repair works assigned previously to the Pak PWD.
Its staff will be transferred to respective ministries after grading and Golden Handshake Scheme will also be implemented. All property records of the Pak-PWD will be computerized.
“Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company will be established to supervise federal development projects while all provincial development projects under supervision of the Federal Government will be handed over to the relevant provincial institutions,” the document added.
In an exclusive interveiw with APP, official spokesperson of Ministry of Housing and Works clarified that a final decision regarding the assets and buildings of the PWD (Public Works Department) couldn’t be made at this time. A bill was still pending to establish a new authority called the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Authority. The bill was presented in the National Assembly and was then referred to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Housing and Works, where it currently remained pending. Until a decision was made on this bill, no final determination could be made about the buildings and assets of the PWD.
She further informed, “However, these assets technically belong to the Ministry of Housing and Works. Even if a decision is made to dissolve the PWD completely and if a notification is issued for its full abolition, since the Ministry of Housing and Works still exist, it will remain the custodian of these assets and will be responsible for managing them.”
“For now, no final decision has been made in this regard,” she added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Public Works Department which was established in 1854 during British India by Lord Dalhousie to oversee and implement construction projects in the region. After Pakistan came into being on 1947, This department was renamed Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD). The department operated under the Ministry of Housing and Works and at its peak employed around seven thousand personnel.