ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed concern over the slow pace of development projects in Balochistan after being informed that only once the apex committee meeting was held in a year.
The PM expressed concern for not holding the meeting of the Apex Committee headed by Balochistan chief minister during a high-level meeting presided over by him to review the progress of Southern Balochistan Development Package.
He directed to complete the Turbat Airport and build two Nursing Colleges in Gwadar and Turbat at the earliest and emphasised on holding meetings of the Apex Committee every month and that of the Execution Committee every fortnight to speed up the 200 development projects worth Rs 655 billion.
The prime minister said that he will personally hold review committee meetings every month to remove impediments in the completion of the development projects. Khan added that issues of Balochistan are different from the rest of the country as its population is scattered, and due to long distances, we have to find out-of-the-box solutions to improve the lives of the people of Balochistan.
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He directed the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, and the Government of Balochistan to work in close coordination to accelerate the work on transport, energy, and infrastructure projects under the package.
Earlier, the prime minister was briefed that Balochistan is a resource-rich province as it produces 40 percent of the locally-produced gas in the country. Ownership of the federal government was very much needed to solve various issues being faced by this strategically very important province.
The prime minister directed the Balochistan government to revamp its governance structure at the grassroots level not only to accelerate the pace of work on development projects but also to improve upon service delivery to the common man. He also directed the authorities concerned to launch an effective media campaign to ensure maximum public awareness of government's initiatives for the welfare of the people of Balochistan.
The meeting was attended by Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Industries Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary, Maritime Affairs Minister Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizengo, and other senior officers concerned.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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