Daily Times

QUETTA: The Balochistan government has planned to introduce a tax amnesty scheme for national and international investors to attract investment to the port town of Gwadar.

Provincial Minister for Planning and Development Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai said this while addressing a press conference along with Additional Chief Secretary (Planning and Development) Nasib Ullah Bazai here on Tuesday. He said that work on several development projects pertaining to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Balochistan was under way. “Work on Zhob-Mughal Kot N-50 and Qila Saifullah Road N-70, Gwadar-Hoshab and Hoshab-Sorab N-85 was under way,” he said. He said that these road projects would be completed before and by 2018.

He said that work had been started on the Rs 14.06 billion East Bay Express project along the coast from Gwadar to Karachi. He said that Rs 4.70 billion were allocated for this project in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2015-16. He said that funds had been allocated for road projects such as Gwadar-Karachi, Gwadar-Basima and Basima-Jacobabad-Khuzdar. He said that Rs 1.01 billion were being released in this regard.
Achakzai said the Balochistan government had achieved 95 percent of the target with regard to implementation of 2,250 development schemes of the provincial Public Sector Development Programme 2015-16 and 140 development projects of the federal PSDP 2015-16. He said that action would be taken against the officials if PSDP funds lapsed. He said the Rs 54.5 billion provincial PSDP 2015-16 had 2,250 schemes — 940 of them were ongoing and 1,310 were new. He said that Rs 19.5 billion were allocated for ongoing schemes and Rs 31.57 billion for new projects. “About 95 percent of funds for the ongoing schemes have been released within seven months,” he said, adding that 97 percent of the PC-1 of the new development schemes had been approved and 95 percent of funds allocated for them have been authorised.

The minister said the Rs 44 billion federal PSDP for Balochistan had 140 development schemes, adding that 102 federal PSDP schemes were being executed by the federal agencies and 38 by the provincial departments. “About 60 percent of the funds earmarked for the federal PSDP schemes for Balochistan have been authorised and the remaining 40 percent will be authorised soon,” he said.

The additional chief secretary said that 98 percent of progress on implementation of the federal PSDP projects had been achieved. He said that Rs 440 million were allocated for 88 schemes involving the Millennium Development Goals. “At least 87 PC-1 of the Millennium Development Goal schemes were made and 50 percent of work on them had been completed,” he said.

He said that donors had increased financial assistance for foreign funded projects in Balochistan from US $70 million to $90 million and this amount would be included in next year’s budget. He said that water projects worth billions of rupees had been completed with the cooperation of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. He said that Rs 5 billion were allocated for flyovers, by passes and underpasses in Quetta under Prime Minister’s Package. He said that Quetta would be supplied water from Pat Feeder Canal and dams.
He said that Prime Minister’s National Health Insurance Programme had been initiated in four districts of

Balochistan on an experimental basis, adding that the federal government and the provincial government would give Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively, for the treatment of each poor patient.

Achakzai said that missing facilities were being provided to 900 state-run schools. “Three new medical colleges, three new universities, seven cadet colleges and five residential colleges were being built. At least 800 primary schools have been upgraded to middle and 400 middle schools to high schools,” he said. He said that 486 small dams had been built with 50 balances and a project of 100 dams was part of the PSPD 2015-16. He said that new provincial budget of Balochistan would have 5,000 check dams and 600 live Karez in 32 districts of the province.