Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives releases Rs 129 biln for development projects under PSDP for the fourth quarter of current year

 ISLAMABAD, April 16 (SABAH): Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has released 129 billion rupees for development projects under Public Sector Development Programme for the fourth quarter of current year.

According to the Ministry, the Water Resource Division and Higher Education Commission have been given top priority.

It is worth noting that in the last quarter of (2021-22), there was a zero release for PSDP, which resulted in the government shrinking the PSDP from 700 billion rupees to 550b rupees.

According to the latest data provided by the Planning Ministry, an amount of 129 billion rupees has been released for development projects under PSDP for the fourth quarter (2022-2023), including 27bn rupees for Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Ex-FATA.

The statement said an amount of 30 billion rupees was released to the Power Division to speed up the projects like Diamer-Bhasha Dam, Mohmand Dam, Kachi Canal, Nai Gaj Dam, while 22 billion rupees was released for Ministry of Communication to expedite the projects like Khuzdar-Kuchlak Road, Dualization & Improvement of Old Bannu Road. 8 billion rupees was released for HEC to complete the projects. Similarly, an amount of 4 billion rupees was released for the Ministry of Housing and Works, 8 billion rupees for the Ministry of Railway, and 5 billion rupees for the Power Division.

The Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has been constantly struggling to cope with the economic challenges and has taken several initiatives for the country’s development, particularly the development of Balochistan which was badly devastated in recent floods. Since the incumbent government came into power in April last year, the Minister said that the PML-N government from 2013 to 2018 uplifted the economy and several mega projects including the CPEC were introduced, but unfortunately, the experiment of bringing the PTI rule shrank the PSDP to 500 billion rupees in April 2021.

The Ministry is committed to allocating funds for development projects despite financial constraints, and the release of 129 billion rupees for PSDP will be a significant step towards achieving the country’s development goals.

The Ministry aims to prioritize the Water Resources and Higher to ensure the smooth implementation of social development initiatives.