The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved Rs. 265.27 billion worth of projects related to road infrastructure and poverty alleviation.

Presided over by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, the meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Makhdoom Khusroo Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar, Adviser to the PM on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, Minister for Irrigation Department Punjab, Muhammad Mohsin Leghari, and federal secretaries.

ECNEC considered and approved the revised project for the construction of Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway on a Built Operate Transfer (BOT) basis at a cost of Rs. 191.471 billion. The project will be executed by National Highway Authority (NHA) and envisages the construction of a 306-kilometer long, six-lane wide, divided and fenced motorway between Hyderabad and Sukkur.

ECNEC also approved the project for land acquisition for Lai Expressway & Flood Channel, Rawalpindi worth Rs. 24.96 billion with directions that no expenditure will be incurred till the completion of environment impact assessment (EIA) report and approval of the project from the PPP Board. The project will be executed by Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA). The project envisages the acquisition of 750 kanals of land to provide a clear Right of Way for construction of the Lai Nullah Expressway and flood channel project which would constitute an integral part of the transportation network of Rawalpindi besides flood mitigation and sewage disposal.

ECNEC also approved the project for the construction of Rawalpindi Ring Road – R3, the main carriageway from Baanth (N-5) to Thallian (M-2) amounting to Rs. 23.60 billion with the condition to acquire the concurrence of the Planning Commission and inclusion of axel load management in the project. Provincial Annual Development Programme (ADP) will finance the project and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) will execute the project for the construction of six-lane access-controlled Rawalpindi Ring Road, with a length of 38.3 kilometers.

ECNEC also approved the revised Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP) worth Rs. 25.24 billion. Contributions from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), the Government of Punjab, and beneficiaries will assist the funding of the project spread over ten districts of Punjab.

ECNEC discussed in detail and deferred the Greater Thal Canal Project (Phase-II) with observations to discuss in the next meeting after considering the technical aspect of the project, inclusion of comments of Sindh province in the report of Central Development Working Party (CDWP), and addressing the reservations of all stakeholders.

Source: Pro Pakistani