Minister for Planning, National Reforms and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that an allocation of Rs 468 billion has been made for development of infrastructure, including energy projects, out of the Rs 800 billion development budget for the next financial year 2016-17.
Addressing a news conference, Iqbal said the National Economic Council has approved a development outlay of Rs 1,675 billion for the next fiscal year, adding that the provinces are on board as all of their concerns were addressed prior to the NEC meeting.
The minister said that the allocation for infrastructure has been enhanced from Rs 408 billion to Rs 468 billion for the next financial year to give an accelerated growth to the country’s economy. The government, he added, wanted to improve infrastructure on priority to create more business and employment opportunities.
According to the minister, Punjab will be allocated Rs 460 billion, Sindh Rs 211 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 143 billion and Balochistan Rs 61 billion for the next financial year. He also said that the provincial governments will be spending Rs 875 billion from their own resources for development projects in their respective jurisdictions.
About the allocations for power projects, Iqbal said the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) will be spending another Rs 250 billion from their own resources in the sector.
The minister said that the projected GDP growth of 5.7 per cent for the next financial year will help decrease unemployment from 5.79 per cent to 5.39 per cent in the next financial year.
He said the government utilised the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) up to 90 per cent during the last three years as compared to 60 per cent utilisation in the previous years. He further said that 610 development projects were completed between July 2013 and May 2016 at a cost of Rs 747 billion, while Rs 570 billion rationalisation was done in the projects submitted during the last three years.
In reply to a question, Iqbal said that the Iranian Chahbahar port was not a rival of Gwadar deep seaport, adding that both the ports will play an important role in development of the region. Gwadar port has a unique position to link South Asia, Central Asia and China,” concluded the minister.
