ISLAMABAD: Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar said on Wednesday that the government had witnessed a record 39 per cent utilisation of the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY20).
“This is the highest recorded utilisation of the development budget in the past six years or so,” a press release quoted the minister as saying.
Earlier, the maximum utilisation of PSDP was witnessed in FY15), when it had touched 32pc.
In a tweet, Asad Umar said during the first five months of the current fiscal year, around Rs87 billion worth development funds were utilized, whereas the last three months had witnessed utilisation of Rs187 billion.
The minister said Peshawar-Karachi Motorway Project (Sukkur-Multan section) had been completed up to 99 per cent with Rs17.7 billion expenditure on the project during the year.
Likewise, he added, Faisalabad-Khanewal road project had witnessed 98pc physical progress with Rs5 billion allocations for the project.
Highlighting the progress made so far to ensure water security for Pakistan, Asad Umar remarked that during the first eight months of FY20, an amount of Rs2.5 billion had been spent under the Phase-II of the National Program for Improvement of Watercourses in Pakistan, which translated into a 50pc utilisation rate.
Work on Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project had also been initiated with Rs2.8 billion already spent on the project, Umar said, adding that for the construction of small dams in Khuzdar, an amount of Rs125 million had been utilised.
The minister said the PTI government was committed to transparent completion of all the ongoing projects, and had been working to ensure diligent monitoring and evaluation of all the projects.
During the current financial year, more than 200 projects were expected to be completed, he added.
