Five important but costly projects set to be approved

ISLAMABAD:

The cash-strapped government is all set to approve five new but essential projects costing Rs64 billion - a move that will further shrink resources as hundreds of already approved schemes are facing delays and cost overruns.

The government has convened a special meeting today (Wednesday) of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for considering approval of these schemes. Four of the projects relate to reconstruction of canals, rivers and roads in Sindh and Balochistan damaged by floods.

CDWP, headed by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haq, will also take up a controversial Islamabad Safe City Project for approval.

The government is facing a serious financial crisis and has already cut the federal development budget by Rs100 billion to Rs180 billion, which is not even sufficient to complete the ongoing schemes. The finance ministry is also struggling to restrict the budget deficit to below six per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Despite financial constraints during the last one year, the government has approved 307 new projects at a cost of Rs1.42 trillion, according to documents of the Planning Commission. This takes total development projects to 1,822 worth Rs4.01 trillion.

Dr Nadeemul Haq said on February 24 to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Planning that it will take 20 years to complete these projects with the given resources and still the Planning Commission is pressurised by all political parties to approve new projects.

Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin once said “each rupee being spent on development projects causes a loss of another rupee due to faulty planning, uneconomical nature of the schemes and delay in completion due to resources constraints.”

The projects

The government will consider an umbrella project of Sindh Floods Emergency Reconstruction of Embankments and Canals at a cost of Rs20.9 billion. The government will initiate 76 emergency flood protection schemes in the reconstruction project. It also plans to restructure the damaged canals and drainage systems.

In the transport sector, CDWP will consider a Rs14.7 billion project to rebuild the damaged communication infrastructure along Right Bank Outfall Drain-I.

The last summer floods caused damages of $10.6 billion, according to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

CDWP will also take up two projects of Balochistan pertaining to reconstruction of Right Bank Outfall Drain-III (RBOD-III) and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure. The total cost of these projects is estimated to be more than Rs15.5 billion.

People residing in the surroundings of RBOD-II have demanded redesigning of the project as the faulty design played havoc with the area during last year’s flash floods.

With an estimated cost of Rs12.9 billion, the Safe City Islamabad Project is also on the agenda. The project is aimed at beefing up security in Islamabad by installing CCTV cameras, explosive detectors and scanners at entry and exit points.

The interior ministry wants to buy instruments from China by overrunning the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules meant for ensuring transparency in public procurement. Reportedly, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has relaxed PPRA rules, the last hurdle in the project approval.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2011.