Budget 2017-18: Rs100m allocated for upgrading PMD’s early warning system

Estimated cost of the project, now part of CPEC, is Rs19.2 billion

ISLAMABAD: After a year-long struggle, the government has finally allocated Rs100 million for upgrading the early warning system of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) under the Public Sector Development Programme 2017-18.

According to PSDP 2017-18, it is one of the new schemes of the Aviation Division with an estimated cost of Rs19.2 billion.

A federal government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The amount has been allocated after a year-long struggle as it was not among the government’s top priorities.”

It is a meagre amount for such a mega project, but it would at least help start the project, said the official.



“The PMD had been pressing the government for some allocation since June last year,” he said, adding that the PMD intensified its efforts for the budget allocation after the Prime Minister had asked the department to submit a report on its failure to inform the government about the windstorms that hit Islamabad, parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in June last year.

The plan was submitted in the same month and the Prime Minister House agreed on acquiring the latest weather radars and asked the PMD to submit a comprehensive plan in this regard. But owing to financial constraints no headway was till December.

Later, the Rs19 billion project was made part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said the official. Earlier this year, China also agreed to provide $200 million for upgrading the latest weather equipment for the PMD.


PMD Director General Dr Ghulam Rasul, when contacted, said, “It is the need of the hour to start this project as with each passing year the impact of climate change will continue to worsen.”
He said that while considering the severity of the situation, the PMD had requested the government to request China to include the project in the list of the early harvesting projects of the CPEC. “It will help the PMD to complete this project as soon as possible,” he said.