ISLAMABAD: After the popular announcement made by Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding converting PM House into a modern university before the election of 2018, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Friday has approved the project at the cost of Rs23.54 billion.
Earlier, according to sources, the cost of the project was estimated to be around Rs35bn but later it was further rationalized.
As per officials, the ECNEC approved the project regarding Pak University of Engineering & Emerging Technologies (PUEET), a research university, which will house various centres of excellence in the cutting-edge fields of science and technology and state-of-the-art Technology Park. The total cost of the project is Rs23.54bn. The project will result in a better quality of education, build industry-academia collaboration and train graduates in new technologies.
According to sources, after a delay of around three years, the PC-I of the project was submitted and a project director was looking into the mega project.
Last year, the Federal Cabinet had approved a specific change to the master plan of Islamabad to set up a university at the Prime Minister House. Before Prime Minister Imran Khan won the 2018 elections, he had said to convert Prime Minister House into a university.
The university idea did not see the green signal because as per the Islamabad master plan an educational institution cannot be set up at the PM House as this sector is purely meant for government and administrative buildings only.
The university was among Prime Minister Imran Khan’s election promises and was included in the PTI’s manifesto before the general election in 2018 as well.
Initially, the incumbent government faced great difficulty in going ahead with the proposal because the PM House is located in a highly sensitive area and red zone of the capital, but the premier insisted that the university would be built there.
To build the new university, the government also needed to change the master plan of the capital for carrying out new/additional construction on the land adjacent to the PM House. To deal with this, the federal cabinet had approved a specific change to the master plan of Islamabad last year.
Sources said that the total area of PM House could be more than 100 acres but the university required over 50 acres on the north-western side of the building.
Meanwhile, during the meeting of ECNEC which was chaired by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr Shaukat Tarin, projects worth over Rs315.5bn were also approved in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Finance for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Taimur Khan Jhagra, Federal Secretaries and other senior officers participated in the meeting. Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood also joined the meeting through a video link.
According to officials the ECNEC considered and approved a summary regarding the construction of Dir Motorway, sponsored by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and executed by Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PHA) amounting to Rs.38,991.382 million. The project envisages the construction of a 29.377 km long, 04-lane dual carriageway which starts from Chakdara and ends at Rabat, District Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The scope of work includes the construction of bridges, tunnels, underpasses and crossroad flyovers. The entire project is located in the Lower Dir region of KP. The above-mentioned project will enhance road connectivity and promote tourism.
Similarly, the ECNEC considered and approved another summary sponsored by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding Peshawar – D.I.Khan Motorway to be executed by the Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PHA). The total cost of the project is Rs276,529.496 million. The project envisages construction of a 360 km long, 06-lane dual carriageway from Peshawar to Dera Ismail Khan and will pass through District Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank and terminate at Dera Ismail Khan. The scope of work includes the construction of tunnels, underpasses, etc. The construction of the motorway will enhance trade & tourism and also generate employment opportunities during and after the construction of the road project. The improved road connectivity will increase economic prospects for the local population.
The Provincial Finance Minister briefed the Committee that the KP Government is developing motorways/expressways to connect tourist spots which will not only increase the number of tourists but also ultimately increase the business/employment opportunities for the local population and contribute towards socio-economic development of the area.
The ECNEC welcomed such projects to make Pakistan a hub of tourism for domestic and international tourists as envisaged by the Prime Minister.
