CDWP approves 6 development projects worth Rs 151.149 billion during its meeting chaired by Ahsan Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, March 18 (SABAH): The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved 6 development projects during its meeting chaired by Minister PDSI & Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal, out of these, 4 projects worth Rs 11.20 billion have been approved by the CDWP forum, while the forum has recommended 2 projects worth Rs. 140.129 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for its consideration /approval.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Planning Awais Manzur Sumra, members of the Planning Commission, as well as respective of Federal Secretaries, heads of Provincial and P&D representatives from Federal Ministries and Provincial Governments. The agenda included discussion on projects of Higher Education, Tourism and Transport & Communications. In CDWP meeting four projects related to Higher Education sector presented in the namely “Development of Infrastructure at LUAWMS Phase-II (Revised)” worth Rs 1851.491 million, “Establishment of National Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NCNN)-New” worth Rs. 2771.800 million, “Establishment of National Center for manufacturing (NCM)-New” worth Rs 4289.880 million, “Improvement of Academic Facilities at University of Karachi (Revised)” worth Rs. 2292.032 million approved by the forum after detail discussion.

A project related to Tourism sector presented in the meeting namely “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE) IDA Assisted (Revised)” worth Rs. 27303.804 referred to ECNEC for further consideration. The project is proposed to be financed through foreign funding of World Bank Loan. This revised PC-I is for development of tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for economic growth, employment and revenue generation, progress of local communities and poverty reduction through construction of roads, tourism allied infrastructure, visitor facilities, marketing, skills development, institutional and regulatory reforms and creating enabling environment for private sector operations. A Project related to Transport & Communications sector presented in the meeting namely “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility project (KP-RAP) Revised” worth Rs.112826 million referred to ECNEC for further consideration. The project is proposed to be financed through foreign funding of World Bank (93.81%) and Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (6.19%). The project aims to enhance rural connectivity through the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and upgrading of roads and bridges in 23 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the Merged Districts. The project is designed to improve access to markets, schools, and healthcare facilities while ensuring climate resilience and road safety improvements.