CDWP okays 10 projects

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 budget, the Planning Ministry continues to hold meetings of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) to approve multibillion-rupee projects, despite a growing number of projects facing time and cost overruns.

The throw forward of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) hovers over Rs10 to 12 trillion. Over the last two days, the CDWP meeting continued and approved projects in bulk.

The CDWP in a marathon meeting, which lasted over six hours, approved a total of ten development projects. The meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal.

Out of these, five projects with a cumulative cost of Rs 15.9 billion were approved at the CDWP level. Additionally, five major projects, amounting to approximately Rs 127.1 billion, were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for final consideration and approval.

Two projects related to the higher education presented in the meeting namely “CM Punjab Laptop Program (Revised)” worth Rs. 27,000 million referred to Ecnec for further consideration. This is a non PSDP funded project. The project is ADP-funded by the government of Punjab and will be completed on Oct 30, 2025.

The project aims to distribute laptops to approximately 112,000 students currently enrolled in public sector educational institutions across Punjab with the final number subject to revised allocations.

Targeting students in BS, MS, MBBS, and Engineering programmes, the selection will follow criteria approved by the steering committee and be based on verified student data from respective institutions.

A project related to Education and Training sector presented in the forum namely “Construction of Academic Blocks of National University of Pakistan, Islamabad (New)” worth Rs 1597.428 million has been approved by the CDWP.

A project related to Environment sector presented in the meeting namely “Formulation of National Urban Strategy and Guidelines to Reduce the Impact of Urban Flooding, Droughts, Climate Disasters and National Guidelines for Spatial Planning Considering Climate Change/Disaster Risk in Pakistan (New)” worth Rs 106.401 million fully funded by UN Habitat approved by the CDWP.

A project related to governance presented in the meeting namely “Investment Projects Financing (IPF) Component of Pakistan Raises Revenue Project (Revised)” worth Rs 40758.086 million referred to Ecnec for further consideration. The executing agency is Federal Board of Revenue. The project will be financed through World Bank loan. The revised project focuses on modernising FBR’s infrastructure through the replacement of outdated hardware, deployment of a private cloud, updated software licensing, and enhanced connectivity for field formations.

It includes the rollout of a Single Sales Tax Return system, development of Data Warehousing and BI tools, and digital transformation of value chains. Key components also cover vehicle tracking, e-way billing, mobile tax facilitation, and the establishment of Digital Enforcement Stations and a Remote Image Analysis Centre. The project supports faceless assessments, border technology upgrades, and capacity building through trainings, expert panels, and IT enhancements, along with business process automation and risk management frameworks.