On Monday, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal announced that over 118 projects, valued at Rs. 1,000 billion, have been canceled due to resource constraints. Speaking to the media after the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) meeting in Islamabad, Iqbal stated, “Today, [we] have to make difficult decisions about limiting the ongoing projects.”
He emphasized the challenge of accommodating projects from all ministries within the limited budget of Rs. 1,000 billion. “Now, we have to make decisions in the national interest,” Iqbal added.
The planning minister explained that only key projects can be prioritized due to funding limitations, adding that provincial-level projects should now be completed by the provinces themselves. “Provinces have far more resources than the federation,” he asserted, urging everyone to contribute to national development.
Shedding light on the upcoming budget, the minister revealed that the economic size target for the next fiscal year has been set at Rs. 129 trillion. He further stated that Rs. 150 billion has been allocated for the social sector and Rs. 70 billion for KP’s merged districts in the next budget.
“The GDP growth target for the next fiscal year was set at 4.2%,” Iqbal said, also mentioning that the export target has been set at $35 billion.
Earlier, presenting a blueprint of the annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next fiscal year at the APCC meeting, he indicated that fiscal space will be provided in the next PSDP for strategically important projects envisioned under “Uraan Pakistan.” He specifically mentioned the Diamer Bhasha Dam, Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway Project, N-25 in Balochistan, and Karakoram Highway Phase Two among these priority projects.
The minister stressed the need for greater synergy between development projects at the federal and provincial levels for the swift completion of national priority initiatives. Iqbal also highlighted that projects with a foreign component and those nearing completion have been prioritized in the PSDP.
Furthermore, the minister elaborated that allocations for special regions such as Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan, and the tribal districts have also been prioritized. He concluded by stating that an effort has been made to align the development budget with national priorities while adhering to limited resources.
