The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved 15 development projects worth Rs34.740 billion and recommended nine major projects with a cumulative cost of Rs431.022 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.
The meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal and attended by federal secretaries, provincial planning departments and senior officials. The agenda included projects from critical sectors including fuel, health, information technology, power, transport and communications sectors, aligned with the government’s URAAN Pakistan reform agenda.
Approved projects include exploration of radioactive minerals in the Marwat Range (Rs1.440 billion), CT scan and MRI machines in AJK hospitals (Rs5.483 billion), Prime Minister’s E-Sports Arenas and Training Centres (Rs3.167 billion), and the Geospatialx Complex GEO-AI Development and Innovation Hub (Rs4.004 billion). Other approvals include PAKAWAZ secure mobile communication ecosystem (Rs708.7 million), Frontier Corps Balochistan accommodation (Rs2.019 billion), a 120-bed hospital at Turbat (Rs2.485 billion), and three-phase AMI meters for LESCO (Rs6.256 billion). The forum also approved a Robotics Centre of Excellence (Rs500 million) and road construction projects.
ECNEC-recommended projects
Among the projects recommended to ECNEC is the establishment of an Emerging Technologies Data Centre worth Rs7.93 billion, aimed at providing secure, sovereign AI and high-performance computinginfrastructure for government institutions, academia and the private sector.
The National Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem Development Programme worth Rs13 billion ), and Pakistan Communication Satellite-2 project worth Rs37.192 billion ) with ground control centre upgrades were also recommended for ECNEC approval.
A transport sector project, the upgradation of track and allied infrastructure on ML-3 from Rohri to Koh-e-Taftan (996 km) worth Rs278.619 billion, including track renewal and 11 new stationsbetween Spezand and Taftan was also recommended. It will be implemented in two phases from 2026 to 2033.The construction of the Mashkel-Chedgi Road (108.5 km) worth Rs43.647 billion, with 90% Saudi Fund for Development financing, was recommended, along with the Rathoa Haryam Bridge project in Mirpur AJK worth Rs10.867 billion.
Iqbal noted that the Rathoa Haryam Bridge project had been stalled since 2018 and was revived after the present government assumed office in April 2022. The project, originally initiated in 2006, has now been physically completed with a revised cost of Rs9.98 billion, fully funded through the Public Sector Development Programme. The minister emphasised that the approved projects align with URAAN Pakistan’s vision for digital transformation, modern infrastructure and sustainable economic growth.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneOur CorrespondentRead More