ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: The Central Development Working Party of the Planning Commission on Saturday approved 40 development projects worth Rs69.3 billion.

The CDWP meeting was presided over by Planning Commission deputy chairman Dr Mohammad Akram.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Planning Commission spokesman Asif Sheikh said that of the 40 projects, 15 pertained to infrastructure amounting to Rs54 billion. Twenty-one projects worth Rs11.6 billion were approved for the social sector, while four projects for other sectors will cost Rs3.8 billion.

He said that 32 projects of Rs45 billion would be financed by the federal government. Of the nine projects located in Punjab, two costing Rs9.7 billion will be financed by the provincial government. Likewise, of the four projects in the NWFP, one will be financed by the provincial government.

Eight projects were approved for Sindh of which one worth Rs2 billion will be financed equally by the federal and provincial governments.

The CDWP also approved the Rs12 billion New Balakot City Development project. It will be financed by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority out of its Rs35 billion budgetary allocations for the year.

The meeting cleared a Rs-20 billion project for the enhancement of power distribution. It envisages extension and augmentation of 500 and 220KV transmission lines and improvement of system security, loss reduction and reliability.

The spokesman said the country presently had the capacity to produce 17,600MW of electricity. However, he said the country would have to generate up to 7,000MW in the next three years to meet the increasing demand for power.

He said that during the next 25 years, the country would need an additional electricity of 162,000MW.

The meeting approved two projects of road and water supply worth Rs300 million for Mitari tehsil under the Hyderabad package. It also approved a Rs-483 million project for the upgradation of Karachi Shipyard.

Other projects cleared by the CDWP included development of the National Defence University in Islamabad, strengthening of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, strengthening and development of the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in Jamshoro, development of infrastructure at the Islamic University, strengthening of King Edward Medical University in Lahore and grant for the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

The meeting also approved several development projects for the Federal Capital. These included strengthening of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences at a cost of Rs485 million and establishment of a public library in Sector I-8/1 at Rs60 million.

It approved the establishment of the Institute of Avionics and Aeronautical Engineering at Air University costing Rs288 million, development of the National Defence University at Rs484 million and development of infrastructure at the Islamic University in sector H-10 at Rs481 million.

A Federal Government Degree College for Men would be established in Sihala at a cost of Rs149 million.

Mr Sheikh said that a project for supply of 100 million gallons of water per day each to Islamabad and Rawalpindi from the Indus had been deferred owing to want of a certificate from the Indus River System Authority about availability of water and apportioning of water share for the federal capital.

He explained that the share of Rawalpindi would be from the share of Punjab. He spokesman said that a cardiac surgery facility would also be established at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences at a cost of Rs1.260 million.