CDWP clears seven projects worth Rs116bn under Uraan Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Sep 11: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives/ Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday chaired a meeting of the CDWP that approved and recommended seven development projects worth around Rs116 billion under the government’s development and reform agenda. Of these, five projects costing Rs21.590 billion were approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), while it recommended two major projects worth Rs94.301 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration, a news release said. Among others, the meeting was attended by senior officials from the federal and provincial governments, Planning Commission members, the Chief Economist and Vice Chancellor PIDE. The projects covered food and agriculture, governance, higher education, information technology, sports and water sectors and were aligned with the Uraan Pakistan vision of strengthening human capital, modernizing governance, improving infrastructure and promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The CDWP approved the revised “Promotion of Olive Cultivation on Commercial Scale in Pakistan – Phase-II” project at a cost of Rs5,014.919 million. Reviewing the project, Ahsan Iqbal recalled that the initiative was launched in 2014 under Vision 2025 and stressed the need for a professional, result-oriented approach with greater private-sector participation. He said successful private-sector olive growers should be brought into the initiative to help expand commercial production. He particularly highlighted the potential of the Kallar Kahar-Islamabad corridor and the wider Potohar belt and directed that this potential be incorporated into the project. The project envisages expansion of olive farms in Balochistan and NMDs, while the minister emphasized that olive plantations should ultimately cover one million acres. The Transforming and Digitalizing Revenue Administration (TADRA) Project of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), costing Rs57,109 million, was recommended to ECNEC. Proposed to be financed through foreign funding under Asian Development Bank technical assistance through a soft-term loan, the project aims to strengthen revenue administration and broaden the tax base. Ahsan Iqbal stressed that the project must have clearly defined and measurable outcomes in terms of revenue generation, tax-to-GDP improvement and expansion of the taxpayer base. The FBR assured the forum that the investment would help raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to 13.5 per cent by 2029. The project was recommended to ECNEC subject to PIDE’s thorough review of its business model. The CDWP also approved the revised Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad Khan Center in Basic Sciences, earlier sanctioned in 2018 but delayed due to land-related issues. Ahsan Iqbal directed a committee comprising the Member Infrastructure and Member Science and Technology to update the centre by incorporating emerging fields and rationalize its cost. He also directed HEC to identify universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan for establishing similar centres. He stressed that universities must become engines of innovation and commercialization of research and directed HEC to upgrade laboratories at five engineering universities, saying UETs must emerge as global brands for producing high-quality engineers. In the IT sector, the PakSat-2 Satellite System, costing Rs37,192.282 million, was recommended to ECNEC, while the GEOSPATIALx COMPLEX (Geo-AI Development & Innovation Hub), costing Rs3,623.040 million, was approved. Ahsan Iqbal termed the development of Pakistan’s space programme an important pillar of Uraan Pakistan. The CDWP also approved the Rs5,758.333-million project for revamping and refurbishment of different facilities at Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad. The minister directed that its summary be submitted to the prime minister for in-principle approval and stressed the need for clear, single-point responsibility and adequate institutional capacity for execution. A Rs338.179-million project for improvement of the High Frequency Radios Network of WAPDA’s Water Resources Management Directorate was also approved. Ahsan Iqbal emphasized strengthening communication systems for effective water resources management and directed timely implementation and efficient utilization of resources.