By Mahnoor Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) met on Thursday under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, approved various development projects including water and road infrastructure schemes.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Human Capital Investment Project: According to press statement issued by the Finance Ministry, ECNEC approved Rs.13,260 million Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Human Capital Investment Project (Health Component) to be sponsored and executed by the Department of Health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and funded by the World Bank – IDA amounting to Rs.13,260 million.
Sambrial-Kharian Motorway: Similarly, another summary was placed before the ECNEC regarding construction of 69 km long (04-lane) Sambrial-Kharian Motorway.
It would be a high-speed toll road facility which would start from Sambrial city and end point would be Lahore- Sialkot Motorway. The motorway would be constructed on BOT basis at the total cost of Rs.43,382.552 million.
Swat Motorway phase-II: The committee also approved 10,000 kanal land acquisition for Swat Motorway phase-II to be sponsored by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and executed by Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PKHA) through Federal PSDP equal to RS.20,000 million for construction of about 80 km 04-lane motorway from Chakdara to Fatehpur.
Sindh Resilience Project: ECNEC approved the Sindh Resilience Project (Irrigation Component) for construction of small dams to address drought prone areas of Sindh including system for improving resilience phase-II in districts of Malir (Karachi), Jamshoro, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkar, Khairpur, Qambar-Shahdad Kot and Tharparkar in the Province of Sindh.
Balochistan Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Project: Likewise, ECNEC also approved a Balochistan Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Project (BIWRMDP), sponsored and executed by the Irrigation Department, Balochistan.
ECNEC approved the Nai Gaj Dam Project (2nd revised PC-I) for District Dadu, Sindh Province at the cost of Rs. 46,980.35 million rupees. WAPDA and Irrigation Department, Sindh will be the executing agencies for the proposed project.
The ECNEC also approved the “Gwadar – Lasbela Livelihood Support Project, Phase-II” (GLLSP-II) to cover all 45 Union Councils in Gwadar and Lasbella districts of Balochistan for community development and fisheries value chain development.
The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs.12, 328.549 million. The Project would be executed by the Communications & Works Department, Fisheries Department, Planning and Development Department, Balochistan through a dedicated Project Management Unit (PMU). It is expected to be completed in 06 years, the statement added.
The Locust Emergency and Food security Project (LEAFS) to respond to food security threats caused by locust in different districts across four Provinces was approved by ECNEC at the total cost of approx. Rs. 31,630.60 million (equivalent to USD 200 million) provided by the World Bank.
