ECNEC approves Rs 579 billion development projects

ISLAMABAD:A meeting of Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Thursday approved Rs 579 billion development projects for water, agriculture, transportation, environment and power sectors.

The meeting presided over by Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh considered various proposals presented to it by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms and approved them.

The meeting approved National Programme for improvement of watercourse in Pakistan Phase-II to be undertaken in all federating units at a cost of Rs 154.542 billion and eight major projects related to the agriculture sector of around Rs 95 billion.

These projects included;(i)  productivity enhancement of wheat with estimated cost Rs 30.455 billion;(ii) productivity enhancement of rice, Rs 15.789 billion;(iii) productivity enhancement of sugarcane, Rs 4.935 billion;(iv, national oilseeds enhancement programme (NOEP) Rs 10.963 billion;(v) cage culture cluster development programme Rs 9.081 billion;(vi) pilot shrimp farming cluster development project Rs 6.160 billion;(vii) water conservation in Barani (arid) areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at an estimated cost of Rs 14.178 billion and Prime Minister’s initiative for save the calf, Rs 3.401 billion.

The ECNEC approved Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme Phase-1, up-scaling of Green Pakistan Programme, at a cost of Rs 125.184 billion for plantation of 3.30 billion saplings including 10 % fruit trees across Pakistan to promote eco-tourism.

The meeting also approved construction of BRT Red Line Project Karachi at a cost of Rs 78.384 billion to develop a dedicated corridor of 24.2 km from Numaish to Malir Halt Depot and a common corridor of 2.4 km.

The ECNEC also approved 500 KV HVDC transmission system between Tajikistan and Pakistan for Central Asia-South Asia Transmission Interconnection (CASA-1000) project at a cost of Rs 46.804 billion and Sehat Sahulat Programme covering 2.7 million families all over Pakistan at a cost of Rs 31.935 billion.

The ECNEC also approved Karachi Water & Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP) Phase-I at a cost of US $105.21 million (Rs 16.708 billion) and Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Programme (SSEIP) to be implemented all over Sindh at a cost of Rs 13.103 billion for the construction of new secondary schools in 160 existing primary schools, to impart training to 2,630 teachers in five major subjects and 485 BISE staff, and to provide lab equipment to 660 schools.

The meeting also granted approval to a project for interconnection of isolated Gwadar/Makran area with national grid system of the country with estimated cost of Rs 17.421 billion to provide adequate facilities for reliable and stable supply of power to the Gwadar area and approved a proposal for revision of sanctioning powers of ECNEC for considering projects costing over Rs 10 billion and CDWP for projects from Rs 3 billion to Rs 10 billion.