CDWP clears seven projects, refers three to ECNEC

August 07, 2026 (MLN): The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has cleared seven development projects, approving four schemes worth Rs12.437bn outright while forwarding three larger projects, cumulatively valued at Rs240.537bn, to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.

The meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal, and was attended by the Additional Secretary Planning, the Chief Economist, the Vice Chancellor of PIDE, members of the Planning Commission, federal secretaries, heads of provincial Planning & Development Board departments, and senior officials from relevant federal ministries and provincial governments, said a press release issued.

The agenda spanned the higher education, information technology, and physical planning & housing sectors, in line with the government's URAAN Pakistan reform agenda centered on human capital development, governance modernization, infrastructure upgrades, and inclusive economic growth.

Four higher education projects were taken up during the session.

The revised scheme for strengthening the Women University of AJ&K Bagh, worth Rs2,550.538mn, secured in-principle approval.

Reviewing the project, Ahsan Iqbal formed a committee comprising the Member Science & Technology, the Member Infrastructure, and the Chief PP&H to rationalise its cost, and directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to develop a comprehensive master plan while awarding construction contracts only to pre-qualified, top-tier firms.

He emphasised transparent and efficient use of public funds backed by robust oversight, instructed HEC to maintain a panel of qualified Class-A contractors for university projects, and required that all revised proposals carry photographic evidence of work completed under previously approved costs.

Project directors, he added, must be appointed strictly on the basis of qualifications, expertise, and professional experience.

The forum also approved, subject to cost rationalisation, the Rs1,044.286mn project for provision of academic facilities at Emerson University, Multan, along with a revised Rs4,559.289mn scheme for establishing the Hyderabad Institute for Technology and Management Sciences.

On the latter, the Deputy Chairman directed HEC to raise the number of buses from two to six through internal cost adjustment and to drop the endowment fund from the revised PC-I while keeping operational costs unchanged from the original. A revised Rs5,494mn project for strengthening KBCMA CVAS, rationalised down to Rs4,283mn, was likewise approved.

In the IT sector, the revised Rs37,130.518mn Pakistan Space Centre (PSC) project, sponsored by SUPARCO, was referred to ECNEC.

The centre is intended to build indigenous capacity for satellite design, assembly, integration, testing, and qualification, cutting reliance on foreign facilities.

Ahsan Iqbal described it as a core component of the National Space Program-2047, expected to bolster Pakistan's self-reliance in space technology and support cost-effective satellite development for strategic, scientific, and socio-economic needs.

Two physical planning & housing projects were also referred to ECNEC.

The Punjab government's Rs31,591.959bn Lahore Water and Waste Water Management Project, covering construction of a surface water treatment plant at BRBD Canal, was cleared for referral, with the forum directing the provincial Planning & Development Board to guarantee annual funding through the Provincial ADP.

The project involves twin 3km raw water pipelines, a 54 MGD treatment plant, sedimentation and filtration infrastructure, a SCADA system, a 5MW solar power system, and related distribution works.

The Ministry of Water & Resources' Rs171,814.464bn Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (K-IV), Phase-I, worth 260 MGD, was also referred to ECNEC.

The scheme includes a 650 MGD intake structure at Keenjhar Lake, an RCC gravity conduit, a pumping complex with two 130 MGD stations, three storage reservoirs, three filtration plants, and allied infrastructure.

Ahsan Iqbal called the project a vital public service initiative with wide-ranging social and economic benefits for Karachi, noting that the federal government's investment aims to ensure safe drinking water, improve public health, ease the financial burden on low-income households, and reduce dependence on the water tanker mafia.

He directed the Sindh government to submit a comprehensive report on synchronising project components, particularly the completion timelines for the 50MW power supply and distribution network augmentation, to ensure timely operationalisation.

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