Ishaq Dar, the federal minister of finance and revenue, presided over today’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting.
“Prime Minister’s National Programme for Solarization of Agriculture Tube Wells” in Punjab, Sindh, KPK, and Baluchistan, with a cost of Rs. 377,236.275 million and a gestation period of three years, was considered and approved by the ECNEC.
For the fiscal year 2023–2024, Phase-I of the project will cost Rs. 90 billion, including Rs. 30 billion from the PSDP and an equivalent share from the provincial governments and beneficiary farmers.
By converting the 100,000 existing tube wells into solar PV systems, this project seeks to increase agricultural productivity using clean and environmentally friendly energy. The Federal Water Management Cell (FWMC) and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture will work together to carry out the project under the direction of the Ministry of National Food Security.
The ECNEC also considered and approved a project of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa titled “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Investment & Industrial Support Project (RIISP) to be executed by KP government in districts of Bajur, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, North Waziristan, Orakzai, South Waziristan, and erstwhile FR regions at a cost of Rs. 110,700 million including IDA loan of $300 million from World Bank and Govt. of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa share of Rs. 29,700 million (in kind). The project will be finished in two phases, with each lasting six years (2023-2029 and 2029-2031 respectively).
The Sindh Government’s ongoing “Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP)” project, which is being carried out in the Sindh Province by the Energy Department of the Government of Sindh at a revised cost of Rs. 27,418.13 million including FEC of Rs. 24,265.57 million, was also given consideration by the ECNEC. The project will be funded by a WB loan consisting of an IDA credit of $100 million (95.2%) and $5 million from the Sindhi government (4.7%). Through this ongoing project, Pakistan will meet its international climate change commitments while enhancing energy security.
The Ministry of Energy’s “Evacuation of Power from 800 MW Mohmand Dam HPP to the National Grid (PC-I)” project was also taken into consideration by the ECNEC before being approved. The project’s rationalized cost was Rs. 14,319.18 million, including FEC of Rs. 6,318.38 million. Asian Development Bank is the project’s source of funding. National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) will carry out the project in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province districts of Nowshera, Peshawar, and Mohmand.
The Construction of the Lahore Bypass from Kalashah Kaku Exit to KLM to Multan Road Near Radio Station (40km approx.) project of the Ministry of Communications was also discussed and approved by the ECNEC at a rationalized cost of Rs. 34,446.585 million without FEC. The National Highway Authority (NHA) in Punjab Province’s districts of Lahore and Sheikhupura will carry out the project. The Federal government PSDP will fund the entire project.
The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation, and Coordination, along with the provincial health departments, will carry out the revised “Emergency Plan for Polio Eradication” project, which will cost a total of $1,784.90 million, with the goal of eradicating polio and making Pakistan polio-free.
Senator Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, SAPMs for Finance and Revenue, Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Commerce, Federal Secretaries, and other senior officials from Federal Ministries and Provincial departments attended the meeting.
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