CDWP approves 8 projects worth Rs30.2 billion; proposes two projects to Ecnec

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Monday approved eight projects worth Rs30.2 billion, while it recommended two projects worth Rs65.9 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for further consideration.

The CDWP meeting was presided over by Planning Commission deputy chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan.

During the meeting, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination presented the projects worth Rs25.8 billion, which were granted approval.

The project, Establishment of a 200-bedded mother and child hospital in District Rajanpur with the total cost of Rs7.5 billion was also approved.

The project is proposed to be financed through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) under the Covid-19 Umbrella PC-I titled: “Covid-19 responsive and other natural calamities”.

The project would improve access of marginalised communities and widely scattered population of the low socioeconomic group to quality maternity and immediate new-born care through the provision of high quality EmONC services, strengthen preventive services and achieve optimum respective SDG health indicators, ensuring service delivery by trained, skilled and well-equipped staff.

The project, Establishment of a 50-bedded cardiac hospital in Gilgit-Baltistan worth Rs4.7 billion was also granted approval.

The project is proposed to be financed through the PSDP. The project envisages establishment of a 50-bed cardiac hospital and the provision of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities of cardiac care for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan with the installation of modern biomedical gadgets such as angiography, thallium scan, ECG, ETT, echo machines, ICU, CCU, HDU facilities, etc.

The CDWP approved the project, procurement of MRI equipment for the Radiology Department, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences worth Rs463 million.

The project is also proposed to be financed through the PSDP. It envisages installation and upgradation of MRI and CT equipment in the Radiology Department of PIMS to ensure the continuity of the already existing services and to improve the quality and magnitude of the services for the deserving patients.

The revised project titled Development of Integrated Disease and Response System (IDSRS) with the Public Health Laboratories Network (PHLN) and workforce worth Rs4.5 billion was also given a go-ahead.

The project is included in the current PSDP 2021/22. It is funded under the Covid-19 umbrella PC-I titled: “Covid-19 Responsive and Other Natural Calamities Control Programme”.

The project envisages early detection of communicable diseases that may pose public health threat and to generate an early response to mitigate the impact of the outbreak.

The revised PC-I is submitted by the sponsors with the additional scope of conducting the feasibility study for infectious disease laboratory (IDL).

The project has four components, i.e., strengthening of field epidemiology and disease surveillance (FEDS) system, development of national public health laboratories network (PHLN) and transition to field epidemiology and laboratories training programme (FELTP) with the human resource development and feasibility study for the infectious disease laboratory (IDL) to be conducted at NIH.

The meeting also gave green signal to the project for the establishment of 200-Bedded Centre of Excellence for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Rawalpindi. The total cost of the project is Rs8.619 billion.

Under the higher education sector, the project, establishment of NUST Campus in Quetta worth Rs2.864 billion was presented, which was accorded approval.

The project is proposed to be financed through the PSDP. The establishment of NUST Campus in Quetta would help the government of Balochistan in the development of human resource by producing a quality work force in the fields of engineering and sciences.

The PC-II (2nd revised) of the project readiness financing for KP cities improvement project worth Rs1.501 billion was also approved by the CDWP.

The project is proposed to be financed through foreign funding. Under the social welfare sector, the CDWP approved the project titled ICT Child Labour Survey, Islamabad with the total cost of Rs57.818 million. The project would be financed through the PSDP and foreign funding.

The Ministry of Water Resources presented two projects worth Rs65.9 billion, which were recommended to the Ecnec for further consideration. The second revised project, Gomal Zam Dam multipurpose project to be located in Dera Ismail Khan district, Tank, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with the total cost of Rs25.9 billion was also recommended to the Ecnec.

The project is proposed to be financed through the foreign funding. The main objective of the project is to harness floodwater to provide assured irrigation water supply of 848 cusecs (peak discharge of 24 cusecs) to irrigate 191,139 acres of land, including 28,053 acres additional land, which falls under the command of the Waran Canal System and generate 17.4MW electricity.

Other objectives included flood mitigation and the employment generation in the region by enhanced farm production.

Another project presented by the Ministry of Water Resources was the Naulong Multipurpose Dam project Jhal Magsi (3rd Revised).

The total cost of the project is Rs39.9 billion and it was recommended to the Ecnec.

The 80 per cent project financing would be through the Asian Development Bank, while 20 per cent would be financed through the PSDP. Wapda will be responsible for the implementation of the dam and allied works, i.e., auxiliary dam, spillway, fuse plug, outlet works, tunnel, power houses, irrigation system, command area development work, watershed management works, provision of common point for water supply scheme and E&M works related to the power house, gates etc.

Planning secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili, senior officers from the Planning Commission and the federal ministries/divisions participated in the meeting, while representatives from the provincial governments participate through video-conferences.

The projects related to health, higher education, physical planning and housing and water sectors were presented before the forum.

A total of four position papers and one concept clearance proposal also came under discussion during the meeting.