CDWP to take up 40 development projects

Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which will meet on Saturday, will take up 40 development projects worth over Rs 118 billion in economic and social sectors. The CDWP will meet on January 12 as its meeting which was earlier scheduled on January 5 was postponed due to political turmoil as a result of assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, sources told Business Recorder on Thursday.

To be presided over by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Akram Sheikh, the meeting will consider six development projects costing around Rs 59 billion in physical planning and housing, three schemes of Rs 26 billion in energy sector, three projects of Rs 10.67 billion in transport and communications, three schemes with a cost of Rs 6.675 billion in water resources, two projects of Rs 2.8 billion in industries and commerce, and 10 projects of Rs 9 billion in higher education.

The CDWP will also take up one project costing Rs 1.2 billion in health, two schemes of Rs 0.153 billion in governance, five schemes of Rs 0.55 billion in manpower, and some other small schemes being sponsored by other ministries.

Sources said that in energy sector the water and power division sought an allocation of Rs 26 billion for three projects. The projects include power transmission enhancement project worth Rs 25.039 billion, National Power Plan of Rs 0.5 billion and feasibility study for evacuation of power from hydropower project River Indus and its tributaries in Northern Areas costing Rs 0.28 billion.

In physical planning and housing, the agenda of the meeting include the water channel to take water from Tarbela to the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi costing over Rs 37 billion. The interior ministry is the sponsoring agency of the development scheme, they added.

Sources said the Erra's project of New Balakot City worth Rs 12 billion will also be taken up by the CDWP. The Planning Commission has already cleared the project in an earlier meeting of the CDWP. The Punjab government development project of construction of south-west waste water treatment plant, Lahore, will also come up for the CDWP consideration. The project will cost Rs 9.35 billion.

In water resources, the Punjab government's Barani integrated water resources sector project worth Rs 6.3 billion is also on the agenda of the meeting. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a financial assistance of Rs 4.5 billion for the project, they added. In governance, the CDWP will take up the NWFP government project aimed at strengthening the financial accountability of provincial Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the PAC cell in the provincial assembly.

Besides this, the narcotics control division scheme of Khyber Agency area development project of Rs 0.9 billion is also on the agenda of January 12 meeting. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has sought Rs 0.14 billion for the establishment of center for earthquake studies.