The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved 16 development projects worth Rs. 259.68 billion, including those pertaining to education and training, infrastructure, and mass media.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal chaired the meeting, with Planning Secretary Awais Manzur Sumra, and relevant federal and provincial officials also in attendance. Emphasizing the government’s vision to transform Pakistan into a knowledge economy under the “Uraan Pakistan” initiative, Iqbal noted that over 25 million children in the country are out of school.
“The federal government, in collaboration with provinces, will take measures to improve the education sector, including the establishment of Danish Schools in remote areas,” he said, stressing it was a collective responsibility to achieve national development. He also declared Olympian Arshad Nadeem a national hero, noting the government was honoring his achievements through the establishment of the Arshad Nadeem/Shahbaz Sharif High-Performance Sports Academy at Jinnah Sports Complex, Islamabad.
Initiatives Examined
The meeting approved five education and training sector projects, establishing Daanish schools at Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir. It also approved the construction of Cadet College Kharan and a Pak-USAID Merit and Need Based Scholarships Program.
The forum referred to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) a proposal to establish a prime minister’s fund for Pakistan. Valued at Rs. 14,000 million, the project would be financed through the Public Sector Development Program, with profits generated an endowment fund utilized for scholarships.
Also referred to the ECNEC for further consideration was a proposal to enhance public-private partnerships in Sindh. Jointly financed by an ADB loan, FCDO grant, and the Government of Sindh, the initiative aims to support the provincial government’s development objectives by fostering sustainable infrastructure through Public-Private Partnerships.
The forum approved funds for the establishment of the Arshad Nadeem/Shehbaz Sharif High Performance Sports Academy at Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad. It would provide top-tier training facilities for 50 elite athletes across 10 sports disciplines, including athletics, boxing, judo, squash, taekwondo, shooting, weightlifting, wrestling, and table tennis.
The CDWP also referred three projects related to the physical planning and housing sector to ECNEC for further consideration. It approved two projects in the same sector, including Expo Center Quetta and Infrastructure Development of Islamabad Techno Polis.
A project related to the power sector was referred to ECNEC for further consideration, as were three projects related to the transport and communications sector.