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Progressing Pakistan: ECNEC approves Rs 154.1bn development projects

By Ijaz Kakakhel

ISLAMABAD: Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved 45 developmental projects in its meeting, including six revised projects with a total cost of Rs 154.1 billion with a foreign exchange component (FEC) of Rs 36.8 billion.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had presided the ECNEC meeting and the projects approved were related to energy, social welfare, water resources, physical planning, education, transport and communications, higher education, industries, commerce, agriculture and health.

Out of the total, 39 new developmental projects were approved by the ECNEC with a cost of Rs 140.7 billion and having FEC of Rs 35.1 billion. The meeting also approved revised estimates for 6 on-going projects with total cost Rs 13.4 billion with FEC of Rs 1.7 billion and net addition Rs 5.9 billion.

The infrastructure sector was remained dominant for approval of projects having 29 projects worth Rs 100.8 billion with FEC of Rs 21.2 billion. Seven projects approved for social sector having value of Rs 37.5 billion with FEC of Rs 15.1 billion. While nine other projects approved worth Rs 15.8 billion with Rs 0.5 billion as FEC.

The meeting approved 12 projects for transport and communication sector with cost of Rs 36.75 billion having Rs 2 billion as FEC. Total 8 developmental projects approved for energy sector worth Rs 20.7 billion. For Physical Planning and Housing sector total 4 projects approved Rs 10.8 billion having FEC as Rs 929.12 million. The water and agriculture related three projects approved in the meeting with Rs 30.4 billion.

In social sector one for education with cost of Rs 7.7 billion and four for HEC worth Rs 24.4 billion were approved in the meeting. The ECNEC also approved total 6 projects of industry and commerce related projects worth Rs 9.8 billion having Rs 501.4 million as FEC.

Addressing journalists, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Engineer Dr Akram Sheikh said the PM stressed on the development of new roads, construction of bridges and infrastructure development that were the key to change the destiny of the people. He said a lot of work had been done for the development of transport and communication sector. Dr Sheikh had expressed the hope that M-I would be completed this year. Acquiring land for construction of Faisalabad-Multan road 184 km (M-4) had been initiated and project in this regard had been approved today.

In energy sector Akram Sheikh said several projects had been approved for meeting the energy requirements. Construction of dams in NWFP on rivers and generation of electricity from canals in Punjab were also approved in the ECNEC meeting. A project approved to import 100 mega watt (MW) from Iran for Gawader Port. While negotiation for importing further 1000 MW power from Iran was in progress he maintained. A fuel fabrication project had been approved in the meeting just for using the fuel requirement of generation power from nuclear technology.

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