Govt committed to provide more resources for Balochistan’s development: Ahsan Iqbal

On Nov 1, 2024

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Ahsan Iqbal chaired a meeting to review the progress on the transfer of Pak Public Works Department (Pak PWD) projects to provincial governments under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in Islamabad on Friday. (PPI Photo).

ISLAMABAD (APP): Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal Friday said that the Federal Government was committed to utilising all resources for the development of the Balochistan province.
Responding to a question during the ongoing 343rd session of the Upper House, he informed that a total of 200 PSDP projects were underway in Balochistan, with an estimated cost of 1429 billion rupees.
He said an amount of 130 billion rupees had been earmarked for the PSDP in 2024-25 while more allocation of funds would be ensured for the uplift of the Balochistan projects.
However, he stressed the importance of improving the administrative capacity of provinces for better service delivery of funds and resources after allocations. Meanwhile, Minister for Industries and Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain replying to a question told the House that restructuring of the Utility Stores Corporation was underway to make it more viable in terms of business and its day-to-day operations.
The Minister said that during the restructuring, the rights of the utility Stores’ employees would be safeguarded. Ahsan Iqbal here on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress on the transfer of Pak Public Works Department (Pak PWD) projects to provincial governments under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The meeting was briefed by the Additional Secretary of Housing and Works on the progress of the project transfer, according to press release issued by planning ministry. According to the update, all Pak PWD projects allocated to Punjab have been successfully handed over to the provincial government. Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the need to expedite the transfer process for other provinces, directing that the transfer to Sindh be completed within the next five days.
“Efforts must be made to ensure the remaining work in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is completed by next week,” he said while underscoring the importance of timely collaboration between federal and provincial entities.