The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) onThursday approved development projects costing over Rs. 267 billion.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, chaireda meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council(ECNEC) today.
According to the details, a summary was presented before ECNEC regardingKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Human Capital Investment Project (Health Component) tobe sponsored and executed by the Department of Health, Government of KhyberPakhtunkhwa and funded by the World Bank – IDA amounting to Rs. 13,260million.
The project envisages improving the availability, utilization, and qualityof primary healthcare facilities in four districts of KPK and would cover alocal population of about 8.4 million and 500,000 refugee population. Afterdue deliberation, the Committee approved the project with the directionthat the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be responsible for thesmooth implementation and working of the project after its completion. TheKP Government would ensure the viability and sustainability of the proposedproject in the long-run.——————————
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The ECNEC considered and approved a summary regarding the construction ofadditional 02-lanes and widening/rehabilitation of the existing 02-lanecarriageway of Shikarpur-Rajanpur section of Indus Highway N-55 to beexecuted by the National Highway Authority (NHA).
The project would be sponsored by the Ministry of Communications and ADB,with a total cost of Rs.44,703.890 million, including Rs.4470.390 (GOPshare) and Rs.40,233.50 (ADB share).
Similarly, another summary was placed before the ECNEC regarding theconstruction of a 69 km long (04-lane) Sambrial-Kharian Motorway. It willbe a high-speed toll road facility, which will start from Sambrial city,and the endpoint would be Lahore- Sialkot Motorway. The motorway would beconstructed on a BOT basis at the total cost of Rs.43,382.552 million. Theproject shall be sponsored by the Ministry of Communications and executedby the National Highways Authority (NHA).
A summary was presented before ECNEC regarding 10,000 Kanal landacquisition for Swat Motorway phase-II to be sponsored by the Government ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa and executed by Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PKHA)(through Federal PSDP) equal to Rs. 20,000 million for construction ofabout 80 km 04-lane motorway from Chakdara to Fatehpur. The Committeeapproved the said project and strongly recommended completing such projectson Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis. The Committee commended suchprojects for promoting efficient and safe transportation facilities acrossthe country.
ECNEC considered and approved the Sindh Resilience Project (IrrigationComponent) for construction of small dams to address drought-prone areas ofSindh, including a system for improving resilience phase-II in districts ofMalir (Karachi), Jamshoro, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkar, Khairpur,Qambar-Shahdad Kot and Tharparkar in the province of Sindh.
The project shall be sponsored and executed by the Irrigation Department,Government of Sindh. The source of funding includes a share of theGovernment of Sindh equal to US$ 11.50 million (7.5 percent) and a Loanfrom the World Bank amounting to US$ 141.51 million (92.5 percent) with thetotal cost of the project amounting to US$ 153.01 million (Rs. 24,493.841million).——————————
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Likewise, ECNEC also approved a Balochistan Integrated Water ResourcesManagement and Development Project (BIWRMDP), sponsored and executed by theIrrigation Department, Government of Balochistan. The project will increaseagricultural production, generate employment opportunities and develop theagro-based industry through Integrated Water Resource Management across 11districts in the Balochistan province. The proposed project is funded bythe World Bank – IDA (up to 96 percent), and the Government of Balochistanand Farmer’s share (up to 4 percent) amounting to Rs. 14,747.74 million intotal. The project is expected to be completed in 06 years.
ECNEC considered and approved another project in the water sector inBalochistan province, titled “Basol Dam Project” on the Basol River. Theproject would be sponsored by the Ministry of Water Resources, Governmentof Pakistan, and executed by the Irrigation Department, Government ofBalochistan with a total cost equal to Rs. 18,679.89 million.ECNEC considered and approved the Nai Gaj Dam Project (2nd revised PC-I)for District Dadu, Sindh Province at the cost of Rs. 46,980.35 millionrupees. WAPDA and Irrigation Department, Sindh will be the executingagencies for the proposed project. The main objective of the project is theconservation of the available flood flows up to a gross storage capacity of0.30 MAF and power generation of 4.2 MW. It will also help in theirrigation of 56,739 acres, along with controlling the soil erosion on thedownstream side of the dam.
The establishment of a 48 MW Jagran Hydropower Station (Phase-II) atDistrict Neelum, AJK, was also approved by ECNEC at (a 2nd revised cost) ofRs. 11,372.135 million. The project will be sponsored by the Ministry ofKashmir Affairs and Gilgit- Baltistan and executed by Power DevelopmentOrganization, AJK. The project is being constructed on the intermediatestretch of Jagran River and will generate annual energy of 212.43 GWh.
The “Sindh Resilience Project (PDMA Component)” was approved at the totalrevised cost of Rs. 15,309.14 million. Provincial Disaster ManagementAuthority – Sindh will be the executing agency for the project. Theproposed project will contribute to the overall need for enhancingresilience to natural disasters, including public health emergencies in theSindh province as the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the requirementfor integrating health services with disaster management. The project isdesigned to cover 29 districts of Sindh Province and is expected to becompleted by 2024-25.
The ECNEC also considered and approved the “Gwadar – Lasbela LivelihoodSupport Project, Phase-II” (GLLSP-II) to cover all 45 Union Councils inGwadar and Lasbella Districts of Balochistan for community development andfisheries value chain development. The total cost of the project will beRs. 12,328.549 million. The project will be executed by the Communications& Works Department, Fisheries Department, Planning and DevelopmentDepartment, Government of Balochistan through a dedicated ProjectManagement Unit (PMU). It is expected to be completed in 06 years.——————————
The Locust Emergency and Food security Project (LEAFS) to respond to foodsecurity threats caused by locust in different districts across fourprovinces was approved by ECNEC at the total cost of approx. Rs. 31,630.60million (equivalent to USD 200 million) provided by the World Bank. Theproject will strengthen the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and alsoenhance the capacity of Provincial Plant Protection Departments. Theproject is expected to complete in 03 years.
The Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme (K-IV) 260 MGD (Phase-I) was alsoapproved by ECNEC to provide additional 650 MGD water to meet the demand ofKarachi City. Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and WAPDA shall be theexecuting agencies for the project. The total cost of the project will beRs. 25,551.77 million, which will be shared on a 50:50 percent basis by theFederal Government and the Government of Sindh, respectively.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, AsadUmar, Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar, FederalMinister for Economic Affairs Division, Khusro Bakhtiar, Advisor to thePrime Minister for Institutional Reforms and Austerity, Dr. Ishrat Hussain,representatives of the Provincial Governments and senior officialsparticipated in the meeting.
