9 hours Ago By Fawad Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD - The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Friday approved development projects worth Rs49.310 billion while recommended additional projects worth Rs19.96 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) meeting, chaired by Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives (PDSI) and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal, reviewed key initiatives across multiple sectors, including education, health, higher education, industries, information technology, manpower, mass media, physical planning and housing, power, and special areas. The forum approved development projects worth Rs49.310 billion while recommending additional projects worth Rs19.
96 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval. With ECNEC’s endorsement, the total cost of these projects will reach Rs69.275 billion.
KP cabinet approves Ramazan package for poor In the education sector, CDWP approved two significant projects aimed at expanding access to quality education in underserved regions. These include the establishment of Daanish Schools in Gilgit-Baltistan (Astore) at a cost of Rs2,962.813 million and in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) at Rs3,052.
560 million. The AJK school designed to accommodate 800 students will introduce modern educational interventions such as incubation centres, skill development programmes, IT education, and a school meal initiative. These initiatives will not only enhance learning outcomes but also improve employability, earnings, and health indicators for students in District Bagh (AJK) and Baltistan, ultimately contributing to regional socio-economic development.
In the petroleum sector, CDWP approved the project “Supply of Gas to Villages within 5km of Gas-Producing Fields in Sindh and Jhal Magsi Town, Balochistan” as part of the fourth-year phase of an eight-year plan. The Rs1,566.564 million project involves laying 192.
964km of gas pipelines to connect 2,934 households in 81 villages. Use ‘Big Catch-Up’ to vaccinate children missed in polio drive, EOC urges dists The Higher Education Commission (HEC) project for the upgradation of Bannu University of Science and Technology (Lakki Marwat Campus) into a full-fledged University at a cost of Rs2,929.234 million approved by the forum.
The second HEC-approved project is the Establishment of a National Centre for Brand Development, valued at Rs1,850 million also got the CDWP nod. The Pakistan Optical Remote Sensing Satellite project, sponsored by SUPARCO and recommended by the CDWP forum to ECNEC, aims to enhance the Pakistan Image Interpretability Rating Scale (IIRS). The total cost of the project is Rs.
19,965.659 million. This initiative will play a crucial role in socioeconomic development and national security, with applications in agriculture, precision crop surveys, urban planning, disaster monitoring, water resource management, and GIS data management.
Additionally, the project will strengthen operational capacity for controlling multiple LEO Remote Sensing (RS) satellites, improving satellite data reception, archiving, and dissemination. Welfare, festivities return to Punjab In the Manpower and Employment Sector, CDWP approved the Social Sector Accelerator (SSA) for Health, Nutrition, Education, Youth & Gender (HNEYG) - National Priority Initiatives under the Prime Minister’s Youth Empowerment Programme (PMYEP). This flagship initiative, titled Youth Ki Uraan, has been allocated Rs7,489.
724 million to empower young people through targeted interventions in health, education, and skill development. Under the Mass Media sector, CDWP approved three key projects. The first, the National Information and Media Archival Repository, will be established at a cost of Rs2,998.
020 million to preserve and document critical media content. The second project, Rehabilitation of Medium Wave Services from Khairpur, has been allocated Rs902.954 million to enhance radio broadcasting infrastructure.
The third initiative, Central Monitoring Unit, has been revised to a total cost of Rs1,396 million, aiming to improve media monitoring and regulatory oversight. Five arrested for human-trafficking In the Physical Planning and Housing sector, CDWP approved the Development of Block-A of Phase 1 (500 Acres) of the Karachi Industrial Park, which will be established on approximately 6,400 acres of Pakistan Steel Mills land in Karachi. With a total cost of Rs7,404.
010 million, the project is expected to boost industrial development, attract investment, and create employment opportunities. CDWP also approved the Green Energy Projects, financed by KFW Bank Germany and presented by the Government of Punjab, with a total cost of Rs5,062 million. This initiative includes the installation of 21.
119MW solar PV systems across 24 tertiary hospitals and six Daanish schools in districts such as Attock, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mianwali, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Rawalpindi and Vehari. Under the Special Areas (AJK and GB) sector, CDWP approved the Strengthening of the Counter Terrorism Department in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with a total cost of Rs2,679.841 million.
This project aims to enhance security measures, improve law enforcement capabilities, and strengthen counter-terrorism efforts in the region. The government of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Hydropower Project at Mehdiabad Phase III, Kharmang, has been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP). With a total cost of Rs1,497.
019 million, the project will generate 3.07MW of electricity, producing an annual energy output of 21.27 GWh.
Additionally, CDWP has approved the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Support Project (CPECSP) - Phase II, with a total cost of Rs2,459.284 million. This project is designed to strengthen institutional support for CPEC-related initiatives, facilitating smooth coordination and implementation of infrastructure and development projects under the corridor.
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