PM speaks to nation over phone today

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday paid a surprise visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Covid-19 ward and interacted with the staff and patients.

Following the standard operating procedures (SOPs), the prime minister visited the hospital and was briefed by doctors about the virus, number of patients and their condition and availability of related facilities for them. Imran reemphasized strict adherence to the corona SOPs for complete prevention. Imran Khan will speak again directly to the people over the phone Tuesday (today) at 1:30PM and answer questions. PTI Senator Faisal Javed said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan will once again speak to you directly on the phone.” Senator Faisal Javed said the conversation of people with Prime Minister Imran Khan would be broadcast live on television, radio and digital media. The prime minister could be contacted at 9224900-051 at 1.30 pm.

Meanwhile, a high-level meeting under Prime Minister Imran was Monday told that the PSDP Plus strategy had provided a conducive environment and necessary support to ensure the private sector’s involvement in the development process, while 180 measures had been identified with a total value of Rs5.5 trillion. According to the Prime Minister’s Vision regarding the involvement of private sector in the development process, it was informed that work on about 50 projects under the public-private partnership model was at various stages. The total value of these projects is about Rs2,000 billion. About 35 are close to approval. In this connection, Premier Imran Khan chaired a briefing on various development projects under the Public Sector Development Program, especially the projects that have completed so far with the participation of the private sector, various projects under completion and early completion.

The meeting was attended by Planning Minister Asad Umar, Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, secretaries of relevant ministries and senior officials. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht and provincial officials attended the meeting through the video link. The meeting was informed that 14 projects worth Rs978 billion would be approved in the next three months, while 18 projects worth Rs1,016 billion would be awarded in the financial year 2021-22. The Public Private Partnership Authority has approved two major projects namely Sialkot Kharian Motorway Project and Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway Project with a total value of Rs233 billion.

Tender for Sialkot-Kharian Motorway project has been issued, while tender for Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway project will be issued in June.

The meeting was informed that six more projects worth Rs710 billion would be approved by August 2021. These projects under the public-private partnership model include projects related to the fields of communication, health, science and technology, social sector and so on. The meeting was briefed on the progress of PSDP Plus and future government practices under this model. Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan said full participation of the private sector in the development process was a matter of urgency in view of the needs of the people.