Chief minister orders steps to ensure progress on uplift projects

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the officials to take steps to ensure progress on the ongoing mega development projects.

He issued these directives while chairing a meeting held here on Thursday which reviewed the progress on the development projects in the province, said a handout.

Senior Member Board of Revenue Syed Zafar Ali Shah, administrative secretaries of the relevant departments and other officials attended the meeting.

Briefing about the ongoing development projects in the health sector, it was informed that six different healthcare facilities in merged areas had been outsourced whereas work on the outsourcing of other six such facilities was in progress.

It was told that work on the first phase of the project “Revamping of 32 District Headquarter Hospitals” had been started.

Revamp of all 32 DHQs would be completed within the next two years at a total estimated cost of Rs15 billion.

A project worth Rs1.7 billion for conversion of 200 BHUs into 24/7 facilities has been approved, while in the first phase Rs110 million has been released for the conversion of 41 BHUs into 24/7 facilities.

It was added that another project for conversion of 50 RHCs into 24/7 facilities had been approved with the total cost of Rs1.2 billion. In the first phase, Rs110 million has been released for the conversion of 25 RHCs into 24/7 facilities.

Education sector: It was told 160 schools had been identified for double shifts while a project worth Rs3.8 billion was approved for the provision of missing facilities in government schools.

Communications sector: The meeting was informed that land acquisition for Swat Motorway Phase-II was in progress while Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan and Dir Motorways projects had been cleared by the Central Development Working Party.

The land acquisition for the construction of Chitral-Ayun-Bumburet and Chitral-Garam Chashma roads was in progress.

It was informed that as many as 2,343 mosques had been solarised out of 4,000 under the solarisation project.

The participants of the meeting were told that a feasibility study was being carried out for the establishment of Bannu Economic Zone and PC-1 for the first phase of Darabin Economic Zone had been designed.

Tourism sector: The work on construction of 11 different access roads to tourist spots in Malakand division was in progress while a master plan for the establishment of four Integrated Tourism Zones had been prepared.