CDWP approves Rs60bn projects across key sectors

Mettis Global reported that the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) cleared five development projects with a combined value of Rs60.26bn. Three schemes worth Rs11.71bn received direct CDWP clearance, while two larger initiatives valued at Rs48.545bn were forwarded to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.

The meeting, chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, covered projects in health, science and technology, physical planning and housing, and transport and communications. One approval was a revised Rs4.92bn medical and nursing college in Gilgit, a scheme that had been stalled by funding shortfalls since it began in 2017. Other approvals included a Rs2.75bn National Defence University campus in Islamabad and a Rs4.04bn road in Orakzai district, which has been pending since 2016.

The Rs19.54bn Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Project, to be funded from abroad with a local share from Sindh's ADP, was also referred to ECNEC. A committee is to be formed to design a framework for overseeing foreign-funded schemes, with stress on accountability. Bidding for the Rs29,000m Gwadar water supply scheme from Mirani Dam can start now, but no contract may be awarded until ECNEC gives its approval.