The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) met today under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal. The meeting reviewed and considered a range of development initiatives aimed at strengthening key sectors of the national economy and accelerating the government’s reform agenda.
During the meeting, the forum considered and approved seven development projects. Of these, five projects, worth Rs. 21.590 Billion,* were approved by the CDWP, while two major projects , with a cumulative worth of Rs. 94.301 billion, were recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning, Chief Economist, VC PIDE, Members of the Planning Commission, Federal Secretaries, heads of Provincial Planning & Development Board Departments, and senior representatives from relevant federal ministries and provincial governments.
The agenda included projects from critical sectors including, Food & Agriculture, Governance, Higher Education, Information Technology, Sports, and Water. These projects are aligned with the government’s broader development vision and reform agenda under URAAN Pakistan, which focuses on strengthening human capital, modernizing governance, improving infrastructure, and promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
A revised Food and Agriculture sector project titled “ Promotion of olive cultivation on commercial scale in Pakistan Phase-II”, worth Rs. 5014.919 million, was approved by the forum. While reviewing the project, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal recalled that the initiative was originally launched in 2014 under Vision 2025 and emphasizing that the project should have been managed through a professional and result-oriented approach from the greater private-sector participation. He said that several private-sector players had already developed successful olive cultivation practices and could play an important role in expanding the sector. He directed that their expertise and experience should be incorporated into the project to accelerate commercial-scale olive production. He said the Kallar Kahar-Islamabad and wider Potohar belt has strong potential for olive cultivation and directed that the region’s potential be adequately incorporated into the project. The project envisages to expand olive farms in Balochistan and NMDs. Minister emphasized that olive plantations must be targetted at one million acres.
A project of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) titled “ Transforming and Digitalizing Revenue Administration (TADRA) Project”, worth Rs. 57,109 million, was recommended to the ECNEC for further consideration. The project is proposed to be financed through foreign funding under ADB technical assistance through a soft-term loan. While reviewing the project, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal stressed the need for clearly defined and measurable outcomes, particularly in terms of revenue generation, tax-to-GDP improvement and expansion of the taxpayer base. FBR assured the forum that the investment would contribute to increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio to 13.5% by 2029 and bringing more taxpayers into the tax net. The DCPC recommended the project to ECNEC with the condition that PIDE thoroughly review its business model.
Revised Project of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) titled Establishmnet of DR. ASHFAQ AHMAD KHAN Center in Basic Sciences”, earlier approved in March 2018, was approved by the forum. It was part of eight National Centres of Technologies but could not be completed due to land-related issues. He termed the delay unfortunate, noting that out of the eight National Centres approved in 2018, seven centres of Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Big Data and Cloud Computing, GIS and Satellite Technology, Automation and Robotics, Applied Mathematics and Livestock and Genomics were completed while this project remained pending.*
Minister constituted a committee under the Member Infrastructure and Member Science & Technology to update the centre with new emerging fields as eight years have passed and rationalise the cost of the project. He further directed HEC to identify suitable universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan for establishing similar centres, one in each province. He said universities have to become engines of innovation and develop strong ecosystems for innovation and commercialization of research. He also directed HEC to implement upgradation of laboratories at the country’s five engineering universities. UET must become a global brand for producing top quality engineers.
Two projects related to the Information Technology sector were presented before the forum. The project titled “ PakSat-2 Satellite System”, worth Rs. 37,192.282 million , was recommended to the ECNEC for further consideration. Another project, “ Development of GEOSPATIALx COMPLEx (Geo-AI Development & Innovation Hub)”, costing Rs. 3,623.040 million, was approved by the forum. The Minister said that development of Pakistan’s space programme was important pillar of URAAN Pakistan.
A project of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination titled “ Revamping and Refurbishment of Different Facilities at Pakistan Sports Complex (PSC), Islamabad”, worth Rs. 5,758.333 million , was approved by the forum. The scope of the project includes civil and external development works, revamping and refurbishment of existing facilities, establishment of the SA Games Secretariat, upgradation of electrical works, rehabilitation of the HVAC system, plumbing and firefighting systems, and installation of security and surveillance systems.
While reviewing the project, Ahsan Iqbal directed that the summary be submitted to the Prime Minister for in-principle approval. He expressed concern over the implementation capacity of the Sports Board and stressed that the executing agency must have the institutional capacity to deliver the project effectively. Recalling previous difficulties faced due to shortcomings in the Sports Board’s performance, he emphasized that clear and single-point responsibility should be assigned for execution and accountability, rather than creating overlapping responsibilities among multiple institutions .
A project related to the Water sector titled “ Improvement of High Frequency (HF) Radios Network of Water Resources Management Directorate (WRMD), WAPDA”, worth Rs. 338.179 million , was approved by the forum. The project is proposed to be financed through foreign loan and PSDP funding.
While reviewing the project, Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the importance of strengthening communication systems for effective water resources management and ensuring that the proposed investment delivers tangible operational improvements. He directed the concerned authorities to ensure timely implementation and effective utilization of the project’s resources .
