Planning ministry wants Rs1t for PSDP

Amount needed to finish CPEC projects, other govt initiatives on time

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed his financial czar to review the decision of allocating Rs655 billion to the development budget for the next fiscal year after the planning ministry called the amount 'insufficient' to meet the financing needs of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other key projects.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has sought the premier’s help to increase next fiscal year’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation to Rs1 trillion – or 35% higher than what the finance ministry so far indicated it would allocate.





Iqbal pitched his demands during Prime Minister Nawaz’s visit to P Block, the seat of the planning ministry. He sought roughly Rs350 billion alone for CPEC’s eastern and western route projects in addition to Rs188 billion for energy sector projects.

The premier directed both the ministries to sit together to sort out the issue after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar termed the Rs1 trillion demand ‘too high’. He said the finance ministry does not have the luxury to allocate Rs1 trillion due to limitations imposed by the International Monetary Fund under the $6.2 billion bailout package.

In its indicative budget ceiling, the ministry suggested giving only Rs655 billion to PSDP. But with this proposed money, all ongoing projects would come to a halt, as the government’s focus would be on CPEC infrastructure and energy projects.



A handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the planning minister proposed enhancing allocations for next year’s PSDP to accommodate government initiatives, undertake projects at the Engineering, Procurement and Construction stage and complete CPEC and energy projects on time.

During the visit, Prime Minister Nawaz approved an additional Rs9 billion for work on the two LNG-fired power plants in Punjab. The total cost of these two projects is Rs191.3 billion and for the current fiscal year the government has already allocated Rs45 billion.

He also approved a Rs7 billion supplementary development allocation to build a coal transportation system at Port Qasim, Karachi. He also approved additional funds for completing work on Naltar project.

The prime minister directed that he should be kept updated on the execution of projects under the PSDP on weekly basis and made it specifically clear that he would not compromise on completion timelines of the projects.

Iqbal said the government will promote public-private partnership to meet projects’ financing requirements and lower burden on the exchequer.

During the marathon meeting at P Block, Premier Nawaz also approved revision in salaries of people hired in Management Professional (MP) Pay Scales and allowed civil servants to compete for positions with other management professionals.



He also directed the creation of separate MP scale with high salary incentives for heads of development projects worth more than Rs20 billion.

Civil servants will also be eligible for this separate scale along with other talented management professionals from the private sector through a transparent procedure for recruitment.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st,  2016.