ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Wednesday gave go-ahead to 31 projects worth Rs713 billion.
From it eight projects costing Rs694.8 billion were referred to Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for review, reported Express Tribune.
The Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project originally envisioned in 1989 at a cost of Rs15.3 billion has seen its cost soar to a mammoth Rs500.3 billion under the present governments’ tenure.
Not only this makes Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project as a costly undertaking ever but also translates to its rate of electricity production costing over Rs13 per unit.
Previously, the cost of this project had been revised upwards to Rs404 billion from Rs275 billion in December 2015 by the present government.
The project has been marred by delays and the national exchequer has had to bear the brunt of these cost overruns, highlighting the government’s incompetence and inefficiency to execute projects on time.
But CDWP forwarded this project to Ecnec for its final go-ahead at a cost of Rs500.3 billion, said an official handout.
Flouting Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ban, the CDWP gave go-ahead to over a billion rupees of projects in the constituency of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son in law Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar.
Closing date of collection Neelum-Jhelum surcharge was already forwarded to June 2018 by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), said the finance ministry.
Also, CDWP gave go-ahead to the hiring of consultants at a cost of Rs100 million for third-party approval of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project.
It proposed 220 KV Jauharabad substation projects at Rs3.2 billion for which ECNEC’s go-ahead has been sought.
CDWP gave go-ahead for evacuation of power from 2160MW hydropower project costing Rs75.9 billion.
Revisions in the construction design of Lahore-Sialkot motorway set to be connected with Narang Mandi and Narowal Eastern Bypass were approved by CDWP.
Faisalabad-Khanewal motorway which is 184 kilometres in length to be built at cost of Rs60.8 billion was forwarded to ECNEC for deliberation.
