The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Friday ok’d five projects worth Rs55.164 billion, including the scheme for the construction of new Balochistan Assembly at Quetta. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), in a meeting, chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal, approved two projects with total cost of Rs7.725 billion and referred three projects, amounting to Rs47.439 billion, to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.
A project related to Environment sector namely ‘Installation of Weather Surveillance Radar at Sukkur – Revised’ worth Rs5,725.013 million approved by CDWP forum. The chair noticed inordinate delay in implementation of the project with Japanese grant and directed for installation on priority basis. In Food and Agriculture sector, a project namely ‘Balochistan Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship Project’ was recommended to ECNEC at a revised cost of Rs12,461.661 million. The project source of financing is through World Bank and International Development Association (IDA) and MDTF. 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. Another scheme related to Health sector namely ‘Expansion of Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and National Institute of Heart Diseases (AFIC-NIHD), Rawalpindi’ at estimated cost of Rs25,457.912 million was recommended to ECNEC in-principal 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 theaters, 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 such as JCIA, FGI, and ASHRAE. Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal accorded in-principle approval and formed a committee to rationalise cost/ scope and directed the sponsors to explore alternative financing options for the project in view of tight resource position for PSDP funding.
Another project of Physical Planning and Housing sector presented namely ‘Construction of New Balochistan Assembly at Quetta’ worth Rs9,519 million in-principle approved the project and recommended to ECNEC for further considerations. This project will be designed and executed under the supervision of the PPandH Department to ensure evolving needs of Balochistan’s legislative operations. While reviewing the project, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission (DCPC) Ahsan Iqbal 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. 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 the project. The third project of the PPandH sector namely ‘Special Development Initiatives for Backward/ Poor District in Country’ worth Rs1,999.988 million approved by the forum for Kashmore district Sindh. The DCPC also formed a committee to oversee and confirm scope and cost alongwith the design and construction of the project.
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