Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday said that the current arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani government would be the last one.

Talking to senior journalists in the federal capital, the minister said that indicators were showing green signals as various sectors of the economy had shown progress and industrial activities had also increased.

He said that there had been around 13 per cent increase in foreign remittances as inflation also dropped down from over 14 per cent to 12.4 per cent. “The industrial sector witnessed positive growth. The usage of cement has also increased manifold,” he added.

The minister said that the establishment of economic zones was one of the important features of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and during the current year, three special economic zones would be set up.

Asad said that Pakistan was becoming a centre of attraction for investors.

Meanwhile, talking about the issues of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, he said the construction work on Islamabad Metro would be completed during this month.

Regarding water shortage, he said that both cities had right to 103 million gallons of water from the Khanpur Dam, whereas they were only getting 2.5 million gallons.

He said that there existed a scheme under which 5 million gallons of water could be transported. A committee had been constituted to check water theft of around 2.5 million gallons of water to improve water availability situation.

He said that instructions had been given for the development of infrastructure for transporting around 100 million gallon waters to the twin cities.

In addition, he said, approval was also given to a scheme for providing water from Ghazi-Brotha Hydropower Project. The work on the project’s feasibility had been initiated whereas advertisements were floated for hiring a consultant of international repute.

He said that the supply of water from Khanpur Dam would be ensured by the end of the current year whereas the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project would start supplying water in three to four years. The measures would help supply about 135 million gallons of water per day to the twin cities, he added.

The minister said that the federal government would support the construction of K-IV and KCR projects as soon as possible. It was also working on Lyari Expressway, Northern Bypass, and Railway Freight Corridor, while work on the Green Line project would also be initiated during the current year, he added.