CDWP greenlights six projects under Ahsan Iqbal’s chairmanship

March 18, 2025 (MLN): The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved 6 development projects during its meeting chaired by Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives (PDSI) and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal.

Out of these, 4 projects worth Rs11.2 billion have been approved by the CDWP forum, while 2 projects worth Rs140.13bn have been recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration and approval.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Planning Awais Manzur Sumra, members of the Planning Commission, federal secretaries, provincial representatives, and officials from relevant ministries.

The agenda included discussions on projects related to Higher Education, Tourism, and Transport & Communications, according to the press release issued today.

In the Higher Education sector, four projects were approved.

These include the "Development of Infrastructure at LUAWMS Phase-II (Revised)" worth Rs1.85bn and the "Establishment of National Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NCNN)-New" worth Rs2.77bn.

Additionally, the "Establishment of National Center for Manufacturing (NCM)-New" worth Rs4.29bn and the "Improvement of Academic Facilities at University of Karachi (Revised)" worth Rs2.29bn were also approved.

A project in the Tourism sector, the "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE) IDA Assisted (Revised)" worth Rs27.3bn, was referred to ECNEC for consideration and is proposed to be financed through a World Bank loan.

The project aims to boost tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for economic growth, employment, and revenue generation by enhancing infrastructure, visitor facilities, and regulatory frameworks.

Another project in the Transport & Communications sector, the "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project (KP-RAP) Revised" worth Rs112.82bn, was also referred to ECNEC.

This project is funded by the World Bank (93.81%) and the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (6.19%).

It focuses on enhancing rural connectivity through road and bridge rehabilitation in 23 districts, including the Merged Districts, to improve access to markets, education, and healthcare while ensuring climate resilience and road safety.

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