ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has approved Rs892 billion worth of five projects of the energy, communication and higher education sectors.
The Ecnec approved the revised PC-I of the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project, having a total cost of Rs404.3 billion.
The meeting was informed that financial issues of the project were discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy, after which a sub-committee headed by the finance minister was constituted to resolve the issues.
The sub-committee noted that the PC-I of the project had no provision for certain items, including interest during construction. It therefore directed the Water and Power Development Authority to prepare a revised PC-I and include all the costs like interest during construction. The construction of Sukkur-Multan section of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway is also among the projects.
A revised PC-I was accordingly submitted to the CDWP which forwarded it to Ecnec for approval.
While approving the project, the committee instructed the authorities to implement all the related schemes of Azad Kashmir at the earliest.
Ecnec approved the revised PC-I of the Sukkur-Multan Section (392km) of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway Project, having a total cost of Rs314.9 billion, on the recommendations of the ministry of communications.
The section passes through the districts of Sukkur, Ghotki, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur and Multan. The committee was informed that there would be no cost escalation during the implementation of the project.
Ecnec also discussed and approved the revised PC-I for the Karakoram Highway phase-II project (Havelian to Thakot), having a total cost of Rs136.6 billion.
The meeting was informed that a number of reasons were behind the increase in the cost of the project. The proposed scope of work included high bridges as well as tunnels which required special treatment and heavy spending.
The project area is prone to seismic activity which required additional safety measures. The road would be built as per Chinese standards applicable to the similar terrain.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) informed the meeting that a saving of Rs58 billion had been achieved in the project cost through a reduction in the bid following technical negotiations.
