Ahsan Iqbal Federal Minister Planning, Development & Reform said on Tuesday that Peace was a pre requisite for development. "Today country is facing extra ordinary security situation which requires special measures to restore peace and order in the country," he said while chairing the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) here.
The Minister said that the passage of constitutional amendment with consensus demonstrates collective will of the nation to combat the menace of terrorism in the country. "We intend to defeat terrorism with development", he remarked. He said, "Pakistan can't afford to be left behind in the development race as other countries in Asia are riding on the wave of Asian growth.
"Our development strategy under Vision 2025 has brought a paradigm shift in priorities for allocation of resources", he added. The first priority, he said was to focus on human resource development and put people first in development process. "Our neglect of human resource development has put us behind other nations. Rs ten billion national human resource Endowment Fund approved is a proof of our commitment", he observed.
The second priority, he said was to focus on endogenous sources of growth for sustainable and inclusive growth. He added that there was focus on research and development, innovation and export promotion. The target of increasing exports to over $150 billion by 2025 is a step in this direction, he remarked. He said that the third priority was to reform public sector and civil service to make it performance driven and citizen friendly. The fourth priority , he said was energy, water and food security.
The neglect of this sector has brought unprecedented damage to economy with acute power and energy shortages and a looming water crisis. Professor Iqbal said that new dams and energy projects have been initiated to not only solve the crisis but also to cater for future demand. The fifth priority, he said was to revamp productive sectors with strong academia and research input for value addition and Knowledge Economy.
"We want to move from commodity to high value platform. ICT sector is being developed as engine of growth", he said. The sixth priority, he said was development of private sector and small and medium enterprises for job creation and investment and the seventh priority was development of modern infrastructure for greater regional connectivity. "China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a giant step in this direction. All development projects will be judged for their contribution and relevance to these priorities," he remarked.
The CDWP approved nine development projects and recommended two projects for approval.
The approved Projects were Archaeology Community Tourism field school project phase II worth Rs 52.533 million, establishment of Seerat Chairs in Public sector universities worth Rs 192 million, Strengthening of academic facilities at shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur worth Rs 712.607 million, strengthening of agricultural engineering and women development program worth Rs 843.189 million, Enhancement of research facilities at university of veterinary & animal sciences Pattoki worth Rs 980.229 million, grow Gwadar Green and Smart worth Rs 410 million and China Pakistan Economic Corridor support project at Ministry of Railways at a cost of Rs 252 million were approved by the CDWP. The CDWP also approved Shangla hill Interchange on M-3 worth Rs 394 million and Dualization of Balance Portion of Sukkur bypass worth Rs 878 million. The CDWP recommended projects were 500kv substation Faisalabad west worth Rs 11077 million and Balochistan education Project costing Rs 3572 million.
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