ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Thursday approved 45 projects worth Rs 681.5 billion including the much-awaited Karachi Circular Railway Project worth Rs 246.558 billion, against the earlier proposed funding of Rs 140.292 billion.
ECNEC decided that instead of National Highway Authority, Water and Power Development Authority will execute the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project. ECNEC met in the Prime Minister Secretariat with Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh in the chair and considered 50 projects on the agenda. One project was withdrawn, four projects were deferred and 45 approved. The approved projects included agriculture Rs 2.998 billion, energy sector nine projects worth Rs 171.207 billion, education sector Rs 16.049 billion, health sector five projects Rs 11.889 billion, housing and physical planning Rs 15.631 billion, water resource development 13 projects were approved worth Rs 114.365 billion, energy sector nine projects Rs 171.207 billion, industry and commerce Rs 1.153 billion, devolution and area development Rs 8.875 billion, mass media Rs 1.654 billion. IFAD funded Gwadar Lasbela Livelihood Project for Balochistan Rs 2.98 billion.
Two projects in the education sector included, Punjab School Libraries project Rs 1.694 billion and Sindh Basic Education Programme Rs 1.45 billion. Five projects for health sector included revitalising and strengthening health services delivery and nutrition services in crisis-affected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under PPP programme Rs 2.125 billion, construction of Khyber Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital Hayatabad, Peshawar Rs 2.209 billion, improvement of children hospital in Karachi Rs 1.675 billion, establishment of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Medical College, Muzaffarabad Rs 2.702 billion, establishment of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical college, Mirpur Rs 3.176 billion.
Two projects of physical planning and housing approved by the ECNEC included municipal services delivery programme, Sindh Rs 6.898 billion and municipal services delivery programme Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 8.733 billion. The ECNEC approved 11 out of the total 15 projects of transport and communication submitted, which included construction of fish landing jetty and allied harbour facilities at Sundarband Gwadar Rs l.13 billion, construction of fish landing jetty and allied harbor facilities at Pishukan, Gwadar Rs 1.034 billion, procurement manufacture of 500 high capacity boogies plus 40 number of high speed power vans Rs 11.998 billion, procurement of manufacture of 50 diesel electric locomotive Rs 19.406 billion, special repair of 150 diesel electric locomotives Rs 5 billion, revival of Karachi Circular Railway as modern communication system Rs 246.588 billion,
rehabilitation of rolling stock and track in connection with bailout package Rs 4 billion, realignment of KKH and Barrier Lake Attabad Hunza and Gilgit Baltistan Rs 2.6476 billion, construction of Benazir Bhutto bridge across river Sutlej linking Chistian with Burewala at Rs 1.250 billion, M4/N70 motorway eight kilometers, Multan Rs 4.026 billion, sub-regional road connectivity project Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 12.982 billion, mechanisation of track maintenance pilot project Rs 4.055 billion. Some 12 projects related to water sector were approved in the meeting including Management of Hill Torent Dera Ghazi Khan Rs 2.225 billion, re-modeling of SMB link canal Melsi Rs 2.571 billion, Punjab Irrigation and Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project Rs 36 billion, Procurement of Machinery for Rehabilitation of Irrigation Infrastructure in Sindh Rs 1.55 billion.
Water and Power Division’s projects in water sector included construction of Toiwar/Batozai Storage Dam Qila Saifullah Rs 4.344 billion, constriction of six dispersal structure on Nari River Rs 4.912 billion, constriction of 100 delay action dams in Balochistan Rs 4.647 billion, construction of Darwat Dam Rs 9.3 billion, construction of Nai Gag Dam Rs 26.236 billion, Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project Rs 1.150 billion, Nolang Dam Project Rs 18.027 billion. In the energy sector some nine projects were approved in the ECNEC meeting included construction of Lawi Hydropower project 69 MW in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 12.235 billion, detail design and construction of Matiltan hydropower project of 84 MW district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 15.140 billion, Tarbela 4 extension hydro project Rs 83.601 billion,
04 MW hydropower project Thak Chila, Gilgit Batistan Rs 1.320 billion, transmission interconnection for dispersal of power from Uch-II power project Rs 2.508 billion, natural gas efficiency project of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Rs 22.305 billion, Water and Power Ministry interconnection of Thar coal based 1,200 MW Engro power with NTDC system Rs 22.305 billion, program management office for Pakistan energy efficiency investment program (ii) Rs 1.697 billion, upgradation of four grid stations at Dera Murad Jamali Rs 1.998 billion. Industries and commerce projects of provincial training center for mine workers in Balochistan Rs 1.150 billion.
One project of devaluation and area development Japanese assisted rural road construction project Phase-II Sindh Rs 8.875 billion. One project of mass media included rehabilitation of radio Pakistan microwave transmitting network for improvement in education, health, etc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 1.645 billion. The ECNEC meeting deferred four projects owing to funding issues including Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Road Infrastructure Damage Due to Floods 2010 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir Rs 1.79 billion, improvement and widening of N-45 (141 kms) Rs 8.550 billion, Rehabilitation of Track on Lahore-Lalamosa section with signaling Rs 16.056 billion and Canalisations of Drug Nala Narowal, Mureedkay Rs 2.590 billion.-Dailytimes
