ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has expressed serious concern over the slowdown on the progress of development projects of Balochistan, and directed the concerned authority to hire consultants to expedite the construction work on the projects. The Committee met with Senator Agha Shahzeb Durrani in the chair at the Parliament House on Thursday.

A detailed briefing was also given on the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ongoing water, energy and other development projects under the PSDP in Balochistan.

Committee Chairman Agha Durrani presented the pictures of dilapidated condition of M-8 Motorway to the committee, and said the project had been under construction since 1999 but after billions of rupees had been spent, the condition of the road was very bad and no one was raising any questions.

He said that effective planning and better strategy helped in speedy completion of development projects, and the authorities should expedite the completion of projects, keep the expenditure at a reasonable level, and maintain quality. He said that those matters were brought to the notice of the National Highways Authority (NHA) but no appropriate action was taken.