MM News

ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved various development projects costing billions of rupees.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar chaired the meeting which approved the Flood Protection Sector Project with revised cost of Rs194.625 billion for execution in all provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

The project is to be financed through federal components, provincial components, and donor financing. The main object of the project is the improvement of countrywide comprehensive flood management approaches on integrated and innovative basis by implementation of structural as well as non-structural interventions.

The ECNEC approved another project of Ministry of Water Resources to be executed by Irrigation Department, Govt of Sindh, titled “Makhi Farash Link Canal Project (Chotiari Phase-II)” for water supply to Thar coal in districts Sanghar and Umerkot at the raised cost of Rs. 12,087.489 million. The project has been prepared to carry 200 cusecs canal water for electricity generation and agro-industrial growth.

ECNEC approved the “Kachhi Canal Project Restoration of Flood Damages 2022” at a cost of Rs. 8280.647 million by Ministry of Water Resources. The project will be executed in Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, and Rajanpur by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). The project relates to water scarcity and protection of infrastructure from onslaught of floods.

The ECNEC also considered and discussed a project of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the ‘New Balakot City Development Project’. It directed provincial government, Ministry of Planning and Development, and ERRA to remove technical and financial discrepancies in the project.

ECNEC further considered and approved a project titled “National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Program to Reduce Stunting and other forms of Malnutrition” to be executed in 36 high burden districts of the country.

The project is to be financed by federal government and through foreign aid under Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Country Engagement Framework for Pakistan 2023-25. The overall goal of the project is to significantly reduce malnutrition induced stunting in Pakistani children in the next three years.

The ECNEC considered and approved the project for the extension and construction of 36km Sindh Coastal Highway at a cost of Rs. 16,204.303 million. The project is to be executed by government of Sindh and will be funded through federal PSDP.

The ECNEC also considered and approved for the construction of Lahore Sialkot Motorway (LSM) link Highway (04-Lane) connecting to Narang Mandi and Narowal (73-kilometer approximately) at the revised rationalized cost of Rs36,814.347 million. The project is to be executed in districts Narowal and Sheikhupura by National Highway Authority (NHA).

A project of Government of Sindh for improvement of road from Sanghar to National Highway (N-5), at Point Rohri via Mundh Jamrao and Salehput (221-kilometer) was approved at the updated rationalized cost of Rs12,521.799 million.