The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved five development projects worth Rs 55.164 billion for sustainable economic development in the country.
Out of these, two projects with a substituted cost of Rs. 7.725 billion were approved at the CDWP level. And three projects, amounting to Rs. 47.439 billion, were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.
The CDWP’s meeting was chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal and attended by Awais Manzur Sumra, Secretary Planning, along with Chief Economist, VC PIDE, other members of the Planning Commission, Federal Secretaries, heads of Provincial Planning and Development (P&D) boards/ departments, and senior representatives from relevant Federal Ministries and Provincial Governments.
The meeting’s agenda focused on development projects across key sectors, including Environment, Food and Agriculture, Health and Physical Planning and Housing. A project related to the Environment sector presented in the meeting, namely “Installation of Weather Surveillance Radar at Sukkur – Revised” worth Rs 5725 million, was approved by the CDWP forum. The chair noticed an inordinate delay in the implementation of the project with the Japanese grant and directed for installation on a priority basis.
Another project related to the Food and Agriculture sector presented in the meeting, namely “Balochistan Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship Project”, was recommended to ECNEC at a revised cost of Rs. 12461.661 million. The project will be financed by the World Bank and the International Development Association (IDA).
The main objective of the project is to promote employment opportunities for rural communities and ensure the sustainability of enterprises in eight districts of Balochistan, including Chagai, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah, Mastung, Nushki, Pishin, Sherani, and Zhob. The project aims to benefit rural households by supporting livelihoods through enterprise development and job creation.
Furthermore, it will extend benefits to communities for enterprises development in sectors i.e. agriculture, livestock, forestry, mines and minerals, tourism, and industry. The chair of the CDWP meeting, Ahsan Iqbal, directed that the additional scope of work should include tangible and impact-oriented interventions under the project.
A project related to the Health sector presented in the meeting, namely “Expansion of Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and National Institute of Heart Diseases (AFIC-NIHD), Rawalpindi” at an estimated cost of Rs. 25457.912 million and in-principle recommended to ECNEC with concerns and funding confirmation.
The upgradation and expansion of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and National Institute of Heart Diseases (AFIC-NIHD) aims to significantly enhance the hospital’s capacity and quality of care to meet growing cardiac healthcare demands over the next two decades.
Key objectives include increasing indoor bed capacity from 420 to 800, establishing 10 state-of-the-art modular operation theatres, enhancing diagnostic capabilities with advanced MRI and CT scanners, expanding outpatient services with 20 additional specialist clinics, and upgrading the angiography setup and compliance with international healthcare standards.
The Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal accorded in-principle approval and formed a committee to rationalise cost and directed the sponsors to explore alternative financing options for the project in view of the tight resource position for PSDP funding.
Another project of the Physical Planning & Housing sector presented namely “Construction of New Balochistan Assembly at Quetta”, worth Rs. 9519 million was approved by the project and recommended to ECNEC for further consideration.
The main objective of the project is to construct a new Assembly Building in Quetta to replace the existing structure, which can no longer accommodate the full strength of assembly members. The proposed facility, spanning a covered area of 250,000 square feet across a double basement, ground, first, and second floors, will feature a modern Main Assembly Hall with increased seating capacity, dedicated chambers for the Chief Minister, Speaker, and Deputy Speaker, ministerial offices, administrative areas with a conference hall, and comprehensive parking and allied infrastructure. This project will be designed and executed under the supervision of the PP&H department to ensure the evolving needs of Balochistan’s legislative operations.
While reviewing the project, the planning minister also constituted a committee to rationalise its cost scope before submission to the ECNEC for final approval and directed that top-quality consulting firms should be engaged for designing and supervision work.
The new Balochistan assembly building will be a gift of the Federal Government for the people of Balochistan. PM Shahbaz Sharif gave approval for the funding of the project.
The third project of the PP&H sector presented in the forum, namely “Special Development Initiatives for Backwards Districts in the Country (50:50)”, worth Rs. 1999.988 million approved by the forum for the Kashmore district in Sindh.
The planning minister formed a committee to oversee and confirm scope and cost along with the design and construction of the project.
