ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved twelve development projects worth over Rs 267 billion in various sectors including infrastructure, water and roads.
The meeting which was presided over by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in Islamabad and was attended by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain, representatives of the provincial governments and senior officials.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Human Capital Investment Project
ECNEC approved Rs13,260 million projects to be sponsored and executed by the Department of Health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and funded by the World Bank amounting to Rs.13,260 million.
The project envisages improving availability, utilisation and quality of primary healthcare facilities in four districts of KPK and would cover local population of about 8.4 million and 500,000 refugees.
The committee approved the above project with the direction that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be responsible for the smooth implementation and working after completion.
Shikarpur-Rajanpur section
The ECNEC approved a summary regarding the construction of additional two-lanes and widening and rehabilitation of existing two-lane carriageway of Shikarpur-Rajanpur section of Indus Highway N-55 to be executed by the National Highway Authority (NHA).
The project would be sponsored by the Ministry of Communications and ADB with total cost of Rs.44,703.890 million including Rs.4470.390 (GOP share) and Rs.40,233.50 (ADB share).
Sambrial-Kharian Motorway
Similarly, another summary was placed before the ECNEC regarding construction of 69 km long (04-lane) Sambrial-Kharian Motorway. It would be a high-speed toll road facility which would start from Sambrial city and end at Lahore- Sialkot Motorway. The motorway would be constructed on BOT basis at the total cost of Rs.43,382.552 million.
The project would be sponsored by the Ministry of Communications and executed by the National Highways Authority (NHA).
Swat Motorway phase-II
The committee also approved 10,000 kanal land acquisition for Swat Motorway phase-II to be sponsored by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and executed by Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PKHA) amounting to RS.20,000 million for construction of about 80 km 04-lane motorway from Chakdara to Fatehpur.
The committee strongly recommended completing such projects on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis. It commended that such projects would help promote efficient and safe transportation facilities across the country.
Sindh Resilience Project
ECNEC approved the Sindh Resilience Project (Irrigation Component) for construction of small dams to address drought-prone areas of Sindh including system for improving resilience phase-II in districts of Malir (Karachi), Jamshoro, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkar, Khairpur, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Tharparkar in the Province of Sindh.
The project would be sponsored and executed by the Irrigation Department, Sindh. The source of funding includes $11.50 million (7.5%) share of Sindh government and $141.51 million (92.5%) loan from the World Bank while the total cost of the project has been estimated at $153.01 million (Rs. 24,493.841 million).
Balochistan Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Project
ECNEC also approved a Balochistan Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Project (BIWRMDP), sponsored and executed by the Irrigation Department, Balochistan.
The project would increase agricultural production, generate employment opportunities and develop agro-based industry through Integrated Water Resource Management across 11 districts in the province.
The proposed project would be funded by the World Bank (up to 96%) and Balochistan government and Farmer’s share (up to 4%) amounting to Rs. 14,747.74 million in total. The project is expected to be completed in six years.
Small dams
The committee approved Basol Dam Project for Balochistan which would be sponsored by the Ministry of Water Resources and executed by the Irrigation Department with a total cost equal to Rs. 18,679.89 million.
ECNEC approved the Nai Gaj Dam Project (2nd revised PC-I) for District Dadu, Sindh at the cost of Rs. 46,980.35 million rupees. WAPDA and Irrigation Department, Sindh will be the executing agencies for the proposed project.
The main objective of the project is conservation of the available flood flows up to a gross storage capacity of 0.30 MAF and power generation of 4.2 MW. It would also help in irrigation of 56,739 acres along with controlling the soil erosion on the downstream side of the dam.
Sindh Resilience Project
The “Sindh Resilience Project (PDMA Component)” was approved at the total revised cost of Rs. 15,309.14 million. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority would be the executing agency for the project.
The proposed project would contribute to enhancing resilience to natural disasters including public health emergencies in the Sindh Province as the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the requirement for integrating health services with disaster management. The project is designed to cover 29 districts of Sindh Province and is expected to be completed by 2024-25.
K-IV Project
The Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme (K-IV) 260 MGD (Phase-I) was also approved by ECNEC to provide additional 650 MGD water to meet the demand of Karachi City.
The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and WAPDA would be the executing agencies for the project. The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs. 25,551.77 million, which would be shared on a 50:50 percent basis by the federal government and the government of Sindh respectively, the statement concluded.
