The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Monday accorded approval to 17 projects worth Rs 18.8 billion, besides recommending nine projects worth Rs 594.5 billion to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for consideration.
The meeting of the CDWP was held under the chairmanship of Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, and was attended by Planning Secretary Zafar Hasan and senior officials from federal and provincial governments.
Projects related to energy, transport and communication, science and technology, health, population planning, industries and commerce, food and agriculture and education were presented in the meeting.
The Ministry of Water Resources presented a position paper of Dasu Hydel Power Project due to increased land and compensation cost from Rs 19 billion to Rs 36 billion with a total of Rs 510 billion, which was approved and referred to ECNEC for consideration.
The Ministry of National Food, Security and Research presented five projects ‘Productivity Enhancement of Wheat’ worth Rs 31,987.4 million, ‘Productivity Enhancement of Rice’ worth Rs 15,809.620 million, ‘Productivity Enhancement of Sugarcane’ worth Rs 5,019.589 million, ‘National Oilseeds Enhancement Program (NOEP)’ worth Rs 10,167.25 million and ‘Cage Culture Cluster Development Project’ worth Rs 6,582 million, which were all referred to ECNEC for consideration.
Three projects and a position paper related to the energy sector were presented in the meeting. The first project ‘Upgradation of POL Testing Facilities of HDIP at Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and ISO Certification of Petroleum Testing Laboratory at Islamabad’ worth Rs 293.614 million was presented and approved. The second energy project to be executed in district Awaran ‘Construction of 132KV Grid Station at Mashkay and 132KV STD Nal-Mashkay Transmission Line (120km)’ worth Rs 1,193.39 million was also approved in the meeting. The third project ‘500KV Moro Grid Station’ worth Rs 5,404.19 million to be executed in district Naushahro Feroze was presented and recommended to ECNEC for consideration. The project related to transport and communication ‘Construction of Groyne Wall/Break Water and allied works at East Bay (Demi Zer) Gwadar’ worth Rs 1,019.519 million was approved in the meeting.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) presented two projects ‘Strengthening and Development of Physical and Technological Infrastructure at the University of Haripur’ worth Rs 1,546.96 million, and ‘Livestock Sector Development through Capacity Building, Applied Research and Technology Transfer, University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences’ worth Rs 1,905 million, which were approved in the meeting.
The Ministry of Science and Technology presented two projects titled ‘Establishment of Pak-Korea Testing Laboratory for PV Modules and Allied Equipment’ worth Rs 1,385.429 million and ‘Upgradation of Polymers and Plastics Laboratory at PCSIR Laboratories Complex, Lahore’ worth Rs 140.249 million, which were accorded approval.
Three health-related projects were presented in the meeting. The Ministry of National Health, Services, Regulation and Coordination presented ‘Treatment of Cancer Patients of ICT, AJK & Gilgit-Baltistan’ worth Rs 4,772.150 million, which was recommended to ECNEC for consideration. The CDWP also approved two project presented by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), including ‘Upgradation of Atomic Energy Cancer Hospital-KIRAN (AECH-KIRAN)’ worth Rs 2,342.790 million and ‘Upgradation of Diagnostic & Therapeutic Facilities at BINO, Bahawalpur’ worth Rs 1,377.176 million.
The meeting also accorded approval to three projects related to population planning, which were presented by Ministry of National Health, Services, Regulation and Coordination worth Rs 609 million.
The project presented by the commerce division including ‘Remodelling and Expansion of Karachi Expo Centre (Component-II)’ worth Rs 2,677.42 million was also given approval, whereas Ministry of Industries and Production presented three projects titled ‘Handicraft Export Development Project’ worth Rs 385.226 million, ‘Industrial Designing & Automation Centres (IDAC)’ worth Rs 1,470.88 million and ‘Footwear Cluster Development through CAD/CAM & CNC Machining’ worth Rs 78.7 million, which were also approved by the CDWP.
The Ministry of Education requested extension of ‘Establishment and Operation of Basic Education Community Schools in the Country’ until June 2019 worth Rs 4,629.742 million, which was referred to ECNEC for consideration.