ISLAMABAD – Web Desk: Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has stated that resources for development projects have been continuously shrinking since fiscal year 2018, with provinces becoming richer in terms of development budgets, according to officials.
Addressing the Annual Plan Coordination Committee meeting, Iqbal said investment has fallen from 2.6% to 0.6% of GDP. He noted that PC-1 work is underway on Rs 5 trillion worth of projects, while Rs 10 trillion is needed to complete development schemes. Since 2018, resources for development projects have consistently decreased.
The minister said ministries had requested Rs 3 trillion for projects for the upcoming fiscal year, but the federal development program stands at the 2018 level of Rs 1,000 billion, allowing work only on selected projects. On Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s instructions, Rs 125 billion has been allocated for Balochistan’s N-25 highway, leaving the federal development program with only Rs 1,000 billion. New projects worth Rs 720 billion have been proposed, with Rs 100 billion for Balochistan and Rs 150 billion for Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the merged districts of FATA.
