Central Development Working Party has approved eleven development projects with a combined estimated cost exceeding one hundred twenty three billion Pakistani rupees, marking a significant step in the government’s ongoing public sector development agenda. The meeting, chaired by Planning Minister and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal in Islamabad, reviewed several proposals covering sectors including education, health, irrigation, infrastructure and administrative facilities. During the session, seven projects with a total cost of approximately fifteen point one seven four billion Pakistani rupees were approved directly by the Central Development Working Party, while four major projects valued at more than one hundred eight billion Pakistani rupees were recommended to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council for final approval.
Among the projects approved during the meeting was the establishment of a Daanish School in Haveli Kahuta in Azad Jammu and Kashmir with an estimated cost of four point six eight eight billion Pakistani rupees. The proposal was presented following a request by the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore. Officials directed that the cost be rationalised in line with previously approved Daanish School projects, whose Planning Commission project document had placed the cost at roughly three point nine billion Pakistani rupees. In the health sector, two revised projects were also discussed. The Upgradation of District Headquarters Hospital Hafizabad project, valued at seven point nine three billion Pakistani rupees, was referred to Executive Committee of National Economic Council for approval, while the National Health Support Programme component for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a cost of one point three three five billion Pakistani rupees received approval from Central Development Working Party.
The meeting also approved a project titled Prime Minister’s Scheme for Enabling Youth with Physical Challenges at Higher Education Institutions through Electric Wheelchairs, Laptops for Blind Students and Audio Visual Aids. The initiative, implemented through Higher Education Commission, carries a cost of one point eight four six billion Pakistani rupees and is designed to support students with physical disabilities by improving accessibility and providing essential educational tools. In addition, Central Development Working Party approved a revised project related to the Land Records Management Information System in the rural areas of Islamabad Capital Territory, valued at approximately one hundred eighty five point six nine one million Pakistani rupees. Officials said the project aims to improve transparency and efficiency in land administration through digital systems.
In the physical planning and infrastructure sector, the meeting approved construction of an administrative block for Supreme Court Branch Registry in Quetta at a cost of two hundred thirty one point six zero four million Pakistani rupees, along with the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Academy in Islamabad estimated at three point one one billion Pakistani rupees. Another major project presented during the meeting was the revised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project valued at fifty point nine five six billion Pakistani rupees. The initiative, recommended to Executive Committee of National Economic Council for approval, is expected to receive significant financial support from World Bank. The project includes rehabilitation and improvement of more than fourteen thousand community watercourses across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including merged districts, installation of modern irrigation systems on over eleven thousand acres of farmland, construction of water storage tanks and provision of laser land levelling units. Officials stated that the initiative will also support farmer training, public awareness campaigns on water conservation and demonstration of modern irrigation technologies to promote climate smart agriculture practices.
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