ISLAMABAD: The Cen­tral Development Work­ing Party (CDWP) on Monday cleared 10 projects costing Rs96.1 billion.

The CDWP meeting presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commi­ssion Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan formally approved eight development projects with a total estimated cost of Rs30.2bn and recommended two projects worth Rs65.9bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for approval.

Under the current financial powers, the CDWP can itself approve projects costing no more than Rs10bn while projects of higher estimated costs are approved by the Ecnec once the CDWP clears them on technical grounds.

Most of the projects taken up by the CDWP pertained to health, higher education, physical planning and housing and water sectors. Four position papers and one concept clearance proposal were also discussed.

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regu­lations, and Coordination had proposed a total of five projects worth Rs25.8bn that were approved by the CDWP. These included ‘Establis­hment of 200-bed Mother & Child Hospital District Rajanpur’ with the total cost of Rs7.48bn. The project is to be financed through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) under the ‘Covid-19 responsive and other natural calamities programme’. The project aims to improve access of marginalised communities and widely scattered population of low socio-economic group to quality maternity and immediate new-born care through provision of high quality health services and achieve optimum respective SDG health indicators.

A project ‘Establishment of 50-bed Cardiac Hospital at Gilgit — Baltistan (GB)’ worth Rs4.675bn was also approved at the meeting. The project would be financed through the PSDP and involves provision of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities of cardiac care for the people of GB along with the installation of modern biomedical gadgets such as Angiography, Thallium scan, ECG, ETT, Echo machines, ICU, CCU, HDU facilities etc.

The CDWP also approved the procurement of Mag­netic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment for Radio­logy Department, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sci­ences (PIMS) worth Rs463.450 million. This will also be financed through the PSDP. The project envisages installation and upgrade of MRI and CT (computed tomography) scan equipment in Radio­logy Department of PIMS to ensure the continuity of the already existing services and to improve the quality and magnitude of the services for the deserving patients.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022