The meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, chaired by Senator Quratulain Marri, convened in Islamabad, to review the compliance of its recommendations and progress on key development projects.
The meeting was attended by Senators Jam Saifullah Khan, Shahadat Awan, Atta ur Rehman, Saadia Abbasi and Mashal Azam.
At the outset, the Committee was briefed on the 22 recommendations issued earlier. The Secretary, Planning, Development and Special Initiatives informed that several recommendations had been addressed, while the remaining were under consideration. The Committee also sought compliance on the projects recommended by the Members of the Senate; however, the Ministry requested additional time to present the same. Chairperson also directed that relevant Ministries be summoned in the next meeting to present compliance reports.
The Committee was further apprised of the proposals shared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The Secretary informed that the IMF had sent a questionnaire covering multiple areas, of which Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Public Investment Management (PIM) were directly relevant to the Planning Commission. The completed questionnaire was submitted to the IMF on March 20, 2025.
While discussing the IMF Diagnosis Report, it was revealed that lack of adequate prioritization of projects, frequent delays, rising costs, and weak protection of funds for approved projects over their lifecycle were the major shortcomings identified by IMF. The Chairperson emphasized that, in line with the Committee’s previous recommendations, ongoing projects must be completed on priority before the initiation of new ones.
The Ministry also briefed the Committee on the Intelligent Project Automation System (iPAS), which is designed to streamline the development process. With integration across systems, iPAS aims to facilitate detailed budgeting and automate budget releases.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) gave a detailed briefing on the Sukkur-Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway (M-6) and the Karachi-Quetta-Chaman Road (N-25). Members were informed that the M-6 consists of five sections from Hyderabad to Sukkur. In the first phase, two sections Noushehroferoz-Ranipur and Ranipur-Sukkur are being prioritized, with Board approval expected in September 2025.
The Chairperson expressed serious concerns over NHA’s performance on the M-6 project and urged them to commence work without further delay. Referring to the Committee’s previous proceedings, she noted that NHA had already consumed four months and was now seeking another four months for finalizing decisions on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Chairperson Committee directed NHA to ensure commencment of said project by October 2025 and cautioned that if the deadline is not met, the matter will be referred to the Upper House for intervention. She further directed that the Economic Affairs Division and other relevant departments be called in the next meeting to brief the Committee on measures for timely implementation of the project.