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Business Recorder
24-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
CDWP clears seven projects worth Rs104bn
ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) cleared seven development projects at cost of Rs104 billion. The CDWP approved four development projects at cost of Rs8 billion and referred three major projects at cost of Rs96 billon to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for final consideration and approval. The CDWP met with Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal in the chair at P-Block Secretariat. CDWP approves four projects worth Rs21.83bn The meeting was attended by Awais Manzur Sumra, Secretary Planning, along with Chief Economist, other members of the Planning Commission, federal secretaries, heads of provincial planning and development (P&D) departments, and senior representatives from relevant federal ministries and provincial governments. The agenda focused on development projects across key sectors, including industries and production, information technology and transport and communications. Two projects related to industries and commerce accorded the approval namely, '1,000 Industrial Stitching Units (Phase-II)' at cost of Rs1,950 million and 'Acquisition of Land for Establishment of SME Facilitation Centres at Various Locations' worth Rs1,250 million. Two projects related to information technology approved in the meeting namely, 'Development of Pakistan Lunar Exploration Rover (PLExR) for Chang'E-8 Mission' worth Rs2,535 million and 'Pakistan Manned Space Mission' worth Rs2,243.20 million. Three projects related to transport and communications presented in the CDWP forum namely, 'Improvement of Road from Sanghar to National Highway N-5 at Point Rohri via Mundh Jamrao and Saleput 0.00 to 221.00 kms' recommended to the Ecnec at revised cost of Rs36,910.449 million. The road connecting Sanghar Mundh Jamrao to Rohri Toll Plaza in District Sukkur is a vital corridor linking numerous villages and towns across Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur, and Sukkur. Over time, the road has deteriorated significantly due to wear and the heavy rainfall in Lower Sindh in 2011, resulting in potholes, surface undulations, and eroded berms. The revised project includes a New Jersey barrier, a new pre-stressed bridge, and a provision for design, drawing, and supervision. Once completed, this corridor will enhance connectivity between eastern Sindh and upper Pakistan, playing a crucial role in the transportation of Thar coal for power generation and contributing significantly to regional infrastructure development and economic growth. Another project of transport and communication sector presented in the meeting namely, 'Construction of Additional Carriageway along Mehran Highway from Nawabshah to Ranipur (135.0 Kms (Revised)' was referred to ECNEC at revised cost of Rs41,034.440 million. The revised project envisages the dualisation of 135 km of Mehran Highway road from Nawabshah to Ranipur, including widening of the road by 4.95 metres on each side, overlaying of the existing 3.35-metrewide road, and construction of 3.5-metre-wide shoulders on both sides. The scope of work includes the construction of New Jersey barriers, bypasses, RCC bridges, pre-stressed concrete bridges, RCC culverts, drainage and erosion control works, embankments, retaining walls, watercourse protection, and stone pitching. It also encompasses provision of guard rails, lane marking, cat-eyes, village traffic signboards, gantries, cantilever boards, and the shifting or rerouting of Sui gas lines and optical fibre cables. Another project of T&C sector presented in the meeting namely, 'Improvement of Road from Rohri to Guddu Barrage @ M-5 Interchange Sadiqabad via Khanpur Mahar, Mirpur Mathelo & Mureed Shakh (150.00 Kms)' was referred to ECNEC at revised cost of Rs17,971.360 million. This strategic road project is expected to significantly improve regional connectivity and support economic development across northern Sindh and adjoining areas. During a comprehensive review of transport and communications sector projects, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal, directed the member infrastructure to review construction schedule rates of federal and provincial governments and notifying new schedule of rates based on market rates. The deputy chairman underscored the importance of this analysis for ensuring cost-efficiency and fiscal responsibility in infrastructure development. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
24-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
CDWP okays seven projects worth Rs104b
Listen to article Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal on Friday chaired a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) that approved seven projects worth Rs104 billion. "Out of these, four projects with a cumulative cost of Rs8 billion were approved at the CDWP level. Additionally, three major projects, amounting to Rs96 billion, were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for final approval," a news release said. The forum approved two projects relating to industries and commerce namely the "1,000 Industrial Stitching Units (Phase-II)" worth Rs1,950 million and the "Acquisition of Land for Establishment of SME Facilitation Centres at Various Locations" worth Rs1,250 million. It gave the go-ahead to two projects pertaining to information technology namely the "Development of Pakistan Lunar Exploration Rover (PLExR) for Chang'E-8 Mission" worth Rs2,535 million and the "Pakistan Manned Space Mission" worth Rs2,243 million. The CDWP referred three projects belonging to the transport and communication sector to Ecnec including the "Improvement of Road from Sanghar to National Highway N-5 at Point Rohri via Mundh Jamrao and Saleput 0.00 to 221 km" with a revised cost of Rs36,910 million. Another project titled the "Construction of Additional Carriageway along Mehran Highway from Nawabshah to Ranipur (135 km)" was forwarded to Ecnec at a revised cost of Rs41,034 million. The forum referred a project called the "Improvement of Road from Rohri to Guddu Barrage @ M-5 Interchange Sadiqabad via Khanpur Mahar, Mirpur Mathelo & Mureed Shah (150 km)" to Ecnec at a revised cost of Rs17,971 million.
Express Tribune
18-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
World Bank-funded project cost doubles after revision
The government has made the third revision in the troubled World Bank-funded Pakistan Raises Revenue project and almost doubled the cost to $150 million to upgrade technology and also to procure 179 vehicles, including bullet-proof cars. In rupee terms, the cost was increased from the original price tag of Rs12.5 billion to Rs40.8 billion — a surge of 226% in addition to giving two years' extension in its completion period. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday referred the project to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), said a statement issued by the Planning Ministry on Friday. The CDWP also expanded the scope of Punjab Chief Minister Laptop scheme and increased its cost by 170% to Rs27 billion. The Investment Projects Financing (IPF) component of Pakistan Raises Revenue Project worth Rs40.8 billion was referred to Ecnec for further consideration. The Planning Ministry said the project will be financed through a World Bank loan. The revised project focuses on modernizing the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) infrastructure through the replacement of outdated hardware, deployment of a private cloud, updated software licensing, and enhanced connectivity for field formations. The project documents stated that an amount of Rs2.2 billion has been allocated for procurement of 179 vehicles of different makes at the unit cost of Rs12.5 million for Digital Enforcement Units. These include 15 bullet-proof vehicles. The government had taken a $400 million loan in the name of Pakistan Raises Revenue. Out of which, $80 million had been allocated for hardware upgrading. Now this component has been increased to $150 million. The ministry stated that the FBR's requirements have substantially changed as a result of organization-wide thrust to adopt information and communication technology (ICT) based solutions for its core operations and facilitation of taxpayer, as envisaged under the FBR Transformation Roadmap 2024. The concept clearance proposal of the programme was approved in 2019. Ecnec in 2020 approved the original project at a total cost of Rs12.6 billion. Later on, the first revision of the project was approved by Ecnec in its meeting held in 2023 at a total cost of Rs21.5 billion. Now, the cost is Rs40.8 billion. The project documents underlined that based on discussions and understanding between the FBR and the World Banks's team during Mid-Term Review (MTR) mission aide memoire, the project has been restructured for including additional funding therefore scope of the project has been revised. There are certain changes in implementation strategies for achieving the programme's objectives and goals. The additional funds will be utilized to meet the requirements. These include piloting Mobile Tax Facilitation Services, initiatives for improved taxpayer compliance, establishing forum for technical consultations with provincial tax authorities on tax harmonization, staff capacity building, backup power equipment up-gradation and control rooms, it added. The project has been restructured on instruction of the prime minister and discussions and understanding between the FBR and World Bank's team during the Mid-Term Review mission aide memoire. The FBR had also conducted an inquiry report for identifying external reasons. The delay was because of non-award of contract under original project, lack of adequate rupee cover allocations as a main hindrance in procurement during last three years and the PM's directive to revise PC-I of Pakistan Raises Revenue to include components of the FBR Transformation Plan falling within scope of the project. But the Planning Ministry stated in its comments that these risks should have been catered in the risk mitigation strategy of the project and could have been managed by the project authority. The Planning Ministry recommended fixing the responsibility for the inability to mitigate these risks to complete the project as per its approved scope and time period. The revised project is also aimed at rolling out a Single Sales Tax Return system, development of Data Warehousing and BI tools, and digital transformation of value chains, the components that do not require any foreign loan. The project supports faceless assessments, border technology upgrades, and capacity building through training, expert panels, and IT enhancements, along with business process automation and risk management frameworks, according to the Planning Ministry. The Punjab CM Laptop Scheme worth Rs27 billion was referred to Ecnec for further consideration. The project is funded by the government of Punjab and will be completed by October this year. The project aims to distribute laptops to approximately 112,000 students currently enrolled in public sector educational institutions across Punjab with the final number subject to revised allocations. Targeting students in BS, MS, MBBS, and Engineering programmes, the selection will follow criteria approved by the Steering Committee and be based on verified student data from respective institutions. This initiative seeks to digitally empower students, enhance access to educational resources, reduce socio-economic disparities, and promote equal opportunities. It also aims to foster collaboration with the local ICT industry, support economic growth and entrepreneurship, and invest in human capital by equipping students with the skills needed to compete globally and regionally. To qualify for the laptop, the public sector universities and colleges students should get a minimum of 65% marks in intermediate exams. For public sector medical and dental colleges and universities minimum of 80% marks in intermediate are required. Students must not be a recipient of any laptop from PM laptop programme or any government laptop scheme.
Express Tribune
15-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Dasu hydro project to cost a whopping Rs1.74tr
The government on Wednesday conditionally approved the construction of the Dasu hydropower project at a 240% higher cost of Rs1.74 trillion and also decided to build a new border crossing post at Wagah with India. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), which took the decisions also approved the construction of 30 anti-smuggling posts along River Indus and in Balochistan at a cost of Rs15 billion. Ecnec took up 10 projects for approval costing Rs2.1 trillion, including the construction of the Dasu hydropower project as an additional agenda item. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chaired the executive committee meeting, which has the mandate to approve mega development schemes. Ecnec conditionally approved the revised Dasu project at a record-breaking cost of Rs1.7 trillion or $6.2 billion. Last month, the Planning Minister had termed the cost an "astronomical increase" of 240%. The conditional approval has been given for facilitating loan negotiations with foreign lenders. It was also decided that a helicopter will be procured under the Cabinet Secretary supervision for safe travel of Chinese contractors of the Dasu hydropower project. A Planning Commission's committee would still vet the project cost, according to the officials. Compared to the original cost, there was a massive jump of Rs1.3 trillion in the hydropower project cost with the per-unit cost of the supposedly cheapest water-based power generation scheme now coming to Rs8.79. The original project cost was Rs479 billion. In the Central Development Working Party meeting, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal termed had directed third-party validation of the astronomical increase in the revised PC-I. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday did not comment on the questions about the approval of the Dasu hydropower project as an additional agenda item and construction of new border crossing with India. The $6.2 billion cost of the project is now almost equal to the $6.7 billion cost of building a railway track from Karachi to Peshawar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project had been planned to generate 2,160MW of electricity and the government now needs more foreign and local loans. Wapda was in negotiations with the World Bank for a whopping $1 billion new loan. The $1 billion loan will be a mix of expensive and concessional loans. The World Bank has already given a $517 million loan for the project. The government will also get a $400 million foreign commercial loan by using World Bank guarantees. It will also search for Rs350 billion in domestic commercial loans. The government had earlier ordered an inquiry to determine the reason for cost escalation but it did not fix the responsibility on any single entity or individual and pointed figures at Chinese contractors, Wapda and the Planning Commission. The inquiry had also blamed the local administration of Kohistan district for a delay in land acquisition. It said that the cost was increased by Rs48 billion because of enhanced security arrangements after two deadly attacks on the Chinese contractors. The impact of security arrangement was hardly 3.8% in the total cost escalation. The ECNEC approved the construction of a new border crossing at Wagah with India. The government is already implementing a project with the loan of the Development Bank to construct border crossing points along the Afghanistan border. In July last year, the committee had decided that a similar post would also be built at a key crossing point with India, Wagah border. With a cost of Rs95.5 billion, two locations are already being constructed at Torkham and Chaman international borders. The contract for the Wagah post will be given through competitive bidding, according to the decision. Ecnec had asked the planning ministry to give its recommendation whether to build the Wagah border crossing site under the government deal or through international competitive bidding. The committee informed the ECNEC that the lessons learnt from the existing contract, documentary evidence provided by the FBR, comparative analysis on merits and demerits of open and the government-to-government contract, ADB's procurement regulation and Public Procurement Rules, it was advisable to give contract through competitive bidding. Ecnec also approved the construction of 30 anti-smuggling checkpoints along River Indus, Hub and in Balochistan with a cost of nearly Rs15 billion. The Federal Board of Revenue admitted before the ECNEC that the conventional anti-smuggling methods have failed to yield results and the economy was sustaining Rs750 billion revenue losses due to smuggling. The project aims to establish Digital and Mobile Enforcement Stations (DES), along with upgraded check-posts, to curb smuggling, enhance tax revenue, promote formal trade, and strengthen border security through technology-driven enforcement. The scope of work includes the development of 10 DES sites in Balochistan, along with 11 small, 6 mediums, and 3 large DES sites across designated locations. ECNEC approved Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project Phase-II at a cost of Rs12.2 billion. The Phase-II envisages restoration and rehabilitation of 146-kilometer long 19-roads in four-districts affected by the floods. ECNEC approved a revised project for repair of 100 locomotives at a cost Rs16 billion. It also sanctioned a project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the revised cost of Rs113 billion for the rural accessibility to markets, education and health facilities, through rehabilitation of the rural road network, measuring 878 km. The Mangi Dam at Rs19 billion revised cost was approved. The main objective of the project is to reduce the existing shortfall in the water demand that is currently being faced by Quetta City. At present, the estimated availability of drinking water in Quetta valley is much less than the minimum 15 gallons per capita per day. Adopting a water consumption of 20 gallons per capita per day, the present water requirement of Quetta is estimated to be 40.9mgd (76.0 cusecs). The proposed Mangi Dam will enable a supply of 8.1 MGD (15.1 cusecs) to Quetta City. ECNEC approved the project namely "Sindh Early Learning Enhancement Through Classroom Transformation" worth Rs46.6 billion. The project is proposed to be financed through the World Bank & Government of Sindh. Project aims to address critical supply-side gaps using a combination of results-based financing and traditional expenditure-based mechanisms to enhance school availability, teacher allocation, and learning outcomes across the province. ECNEC also approved the 220kV Transmission System Network Reinforcement in Islamabad and Burhan Area worth Rs11.3 billion. The main objective of the project is to enhance the capacity of the national transmission system to remove the transmission constraints in order to meet the growing load demand of IESCO and also for reliable dispersal of upcoming generation from Tarbela 5th extension project.
Business Recorder
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
ECNEC approves 9 uplift projects worth Rs355.736bn
ISLAMABAD: Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Wednesday approved 9 development projects worth Rs. 355.736 billion in key sectors including transport, energy, education, water resources, trade facilitation, tourism, and post-disaster recovery. Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting Wednesday. Ecnec approves 13 key projects worth Rs1.275trn The approved projects for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa include rural accessibility upgrades, and the Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE). Other key approvals covered flood rehabilitation initiatives to restore critical infrastructure in Sindh, early learning classroom transformation in Sindh, and the construction of Mangi Dam with a water conveyance system in Quetta. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
