CDWP Clears Development Projects Worth Rs. 76.5 Billion

The Central Development Working Party (CWDP) cleared three development projects worth Rs 76.5 billion during its meeting held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

The meeting, also attended by the Secretary Planning Ministry, the Chief Economist, and Members of the Planning Commission, considered three projects related to the Ministry of Communication and provincial projects.

The forum referred Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project at the cost of Rs. 69,440 million to the Executive Committee of the National Executive Council (ECNEC) while approving the construction of a 6-lane overhead bridge at Imamia Colony Railway Crossing Shahdara at the cost of Rs 3,958 million and the construction and Sindh Health Support Program at the cost of Rs. 3,098 million.

The construction of the overhead bridge at Imamia Colony was approved by the CDWP with the subject that National Highway Authority (NHA) will charge a toll tax after the construction. The Ministry of Communications is the sponsoring agency of the project.

The revised project envisages the construction of a railway overhead bridge measuring 613 meters in length with approach ramps on either side of National Highway N-5 at Imamia Colony Railway crossing at Shahdara. The proposed overhead bridge will facilitate the free flow of traffic on N-5. The rail track between Lahore and Faisalabad intercepts N-5 dual carriageway at Imamia Colony.

The provincial government of Sindh is the sponsoring agency of the Sindh Health Support Program. The PC-I envisages localizing the National universal health coverage (UHC) Benefit Package (BP), Sindh took the lead to become the first province in Pakistan by developing the provincial EPHS.

Sindh EPHS for UHC BP had prioritized a total of 131 interventions as District Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS) that included 94 interventions as an immediate priority, out of which 21 were at the community level, 37 at the primary health care (PHC) facility level, and 36 at the first level hospital (FLH). The interventions will lead to improved health with resilient health infrastructure by addressing accessibility, equity, responsiveness, social and financial risk protection, and improved efficiency.