ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved five development projects at cost of Rs15.9 billion and referred five major projects amounting to approximately Rs127.1 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.
A marathon meeting chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal, which lasted over six hours, a total of ten development projects were discussed.
Out of these, five projects with a cumulative cost of Rs15.9 billion were approved at the CDWP level. Additionally, five major projects, amounting to approximately Rs127.1 billion, were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final consideration and approval.
The meeting was attended by Awais Manzur Sumra, Secretary Planning, along with Chief Economist, VC PIDE, other members of the Planning Commission, Chief Economist of PC, federal secretaries, heads of Provincial Planning and Development (P&D) departments, and senior representatives from relevant federal ministries and provincial governments.
The agenda focused on development projects across key sectors, including education and training, environment, governance, higher education, information technology, physical planning and housing, special areas (AJK & GB) and transport and communications.
The minister directed the Planning Ministry to develop mechanism for notifying construction rates for highway and buildings projects in light of accurate cost of construction. He directed that thorough scrutiny of projects should be ensured by sponsoring departments to avoid inflated cost. He directed Higher Education Commission and Government of Punjab to coordinate on laptop procurement in order to consolidate the demand for next four years and invite leading laptop manufacturers to setup plant in Pakistan.
A project related to education and training sector presented in the forum namely, “Construction of Academic Blocks of National University of Pakistan, Islamabad (New)” worth Rs1,597.428 million has approved by CDWP the forum.
A project related to environment sector presented in the meeting namely “Formulation of National Urban Strategy and Guidelines to Reduce the Impact of Urban Flooding, Droughts, Climate Disasters and National Guidelines for Spatial Planning Considering Climate Change/Disaster Risk in Pakistan (New)” at cost of Rs106.401 million fully funded by UN Habitat approved by the CDWP forum.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
