Volume of next fiscal year’s Public Sector Development Program will be raised to Rs 800 billion: Ahsan Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, June 04 (SABAH): Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry says volume of next fiscal year’s Public Sector Development Program will be raised to 800 billion rupees.

Addressing a news conference after Annual Plan Coordination Committee meeting in Islamabad on Saturday, Ahsan Iqbal said under PSDP federation will receive 26 billion rupees, Punjab 58 billion rupees, Sindh 62 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 48 billion, Balochistan 112 billion, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 34 billion, Gilgit-Baltistan 33 billion and erstwhile FATA will receive fifty billion rupees.

The Minister said growth target for next fiscal year will be five percent. He said ninety percent of allocations will be made for on-going projects to bring continuity in development of the country. He said government is prioritizing under developed areas of the country in next year’s plan.

Ahsan Iqbal said government is allocating budget to solve the issues of water and electricity in Gwadar. He said various schemes for youth of Balochistan will be launched to bring them at par with rest of the country.

The Minister said government is paying special attention to protect water resources of the country and in this regard dams which are under construction will be completed at fast track.

He said Higher Education also remains on the top priority of the government and its allocations will be protected and increased gradually. He further said that focus is also being made on IT, science and technology sectors. He said 250 technical vocational institutes will be established to impart technical education to youth of the country.

He further added that the youth would be trained in order to cope with the challenges of cyber security and various schemes would be announced in upcoming budget for their welfare. He said government will also take steps to improve physical infrastructure of the country.

Ahsan Iqbal said projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor including Special Economic Zones will be completed on fast track.