The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has unveiled a significant increase in its development budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with a proposed Rs 547 billion Annual Development Plan (ADP) for 2025-26. This represents a 32% rise, or Rs 131 billion more, compared to the current year’s budget of Rs 416 billion.
Finance Minister Aftab Alam Afridi presented the new ADP, detailing the allocations for various sectors and projects. Key figures in the plan include Rs 195 billion for the Provincial Annual Development Programme (PADP), Rs 39 billion for district-level projects, and Rs 39.6 billion for the merged districts.
The accelerated implementation programme for the merged districts has been allocated Rs 92.7 billion, with Rs 177.1 billion allocated for foreign project assistance, including Rs 3.47 billion for the Pakistan Social Development Programme (PSDP).
The provincial government has proposed 1,349 ongoing projects and 810 new schemes in the development outlay for the next year. The total number of foreign-funded projects in ADP 2025-26 is 49, spread across 19 different sectors. Of the total foreign funding of Rs 177.1 billion, Rs 11.6 billion is a grant and Rs 165.5 billion is a loan from various countries.
The budget documents reveal that 73% of the development budget has been allocated for ongoing projects to ensure their timely completion and reduce future liabilities.
A substantial portion of the ADP has been earmarked for multi-sectoral development, including Rs 53.6 billion for roads, Rs 27 billion for the health sector, Rs 13.6 billion for elementary and secondary education, Rs 10.8 billion for drinking water and sanitation, Rs 25 billion for water management, Rs 9 billion for urban development, Rs 8.8 billion for sports, and Rs 7 billion for agriculture.
The health sector sees a boost with Rs 1.2 billion allocated for improving 2,500 basic health units, along with plans to establish satellite cardiac units in Mardan and Bannu and a nursing college in Upper Chitral. In education, the government has declared an “education emergency,” allocating Rs 5 billion to enroll out-of-school children and Rs 1.6 billion for teacher salaries in community schools. Rs 8.5 billion will be allocated for textbooks for students, and Rs 3 billion for establishing a girls’ cadet college in Dera Ismail Khan.
Additionally, public sector universities in the province will receive Rs 10 billion for development, up from Rs 3 billion, addressing their financial struggles. The government has also allocated Rs 2.7 billion to convert government colleges into applied science and technology centers and Rs 3.5 billion for building five new colleges.
In terms of law enforcement, the government has allocated Rs 13 billion to equip the police department with necessary resources, including Rs 3 billion for the merged districts. Infrastructure development continues with Rs 9.6 billion allocated for the dualization of the Bannu-Miranshah road and Rs 1.2 billion for the Chashma Dara Tung road.
For water projects, Rs 17 billion has been allocated to ensure access to clean drinking water across the province, with specific allocations for southern, central, and northern districts as well as merged areas.
