ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved seven development projects worth Rs22.16 billion during its meeting held on Friday under the chair of Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal.
The projects approved by the CDWP meeting included Balochistan Urgent Response for Food Security having an estimated cost of Rs1.1 billion; Maintenance Dredging of Navigation Channel of Gwadar Port, Rs4.6 billion; Social Sector Accelerator for Health, Nutrition, Education, Youth and Gender, National Priority Initiatives, Rs4.8 billion; Provision of Academic & Research Facilities & Girls Hostel at Quaid-e-Azam University, Rs3.8 billion; Establishment of Partnership between Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GOP to address grand challenges in Health Sector, Rs220 million; King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Hospital at Tarlai, Islamabad, Rs2.4 billion and Sanitary Sewerage System with Treatment Plant, Gilgit city, Rs4.9 billion.
The Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives is the sponsoring agency of Rs4.82 billion project “Social Sector Accelerator SSA for Health, Nutrition, Education, Youth and Gender (HNEYG), National Priority Initiatives (2nd Revision).”
Under the program, the ministry will award paid internships to all eligible applicants that qualify for the program through the proposed selection criterion for a duration of six months. Following their selection, the ministry will facilitate the placement of interns on positions relevant to their skills and job function in host organizations spanning across the public, private and development sectors. The Interns will receive a stipend of Rs 25,000/month. A total of 30,000 internships will be awarded through the one- year program.
“Balochistan Urgent Response for Food Security Project” worth Rs1.1billion is being sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs. The project envisages revival of agriculture production in the severely flood affected districts of the Nasirabad Division which is considered as the granary of the province. The project will support the provision of rice seeds for increased productivity to 60,000 farm househaolds in the target districts.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs will bear the cost of Rs4.66 billion project “Maintenance Dredging of the Navigational Channel of Gwadar Port.” The revised project envisages, maintenance dredging of 4.70-kilometer long navigational channel, basin and berthing area of Gwadar Port. Its internal navigational channel and turning basin design depth is 13.8-meter for safe navigation of deep draft vessels and the berthing area and outer channel are dredged to 14.5-meter to permit safe berthing and sufficient clearance from bottom in low tides. The channel is designed for navigation of 50,000 DWT ships during all weather.
HEC is the sponsoring agency of Rs3.8 billion project “Provision of Academic & Research Facilities & Girls Hostel at Quaid-e-Azam University”. The prime objective of the project is to strengthen PhD/MPhil programs and to strengthen newly started BS programs. The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination is the sponsoring agency of Rs220 million project “Establishment of a Partnership between Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the GOP to address grand challenges in the Health Sector.” It is a new project with the purpose to provide grants for improving the health sector (management and delivery) in ICT, AJK and GB using innovative approaches and technologies from researchers, entrepreneurs, scholars and practitioners in Pakistan, in alignment with the goals of global grand challenges program. The project “King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Hospital at Tarlai, Islamabad,” with an estimated cost of Rs2.4 billion is being funded by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination. The hospital will accommodate a 200 beds facility.