Actual size of PSDP jumps to record Rs8tr

Govt includes 300 new schemes worth Rs1.54tr while following in the footsteps of its predecessor

ISLAMABAD: The size of next fiscal year’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has jumped to a record Rs8 trillion after the government included 300 new schemes worth Rs1.54 trillion while following in the footsteps of its predecessor - the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

The government has also included the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, known as K2 and K3, in the PSDP on the instructions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which added Rs960 billion to the PSDP. Former finance minister Ishaq Dar had excluded the nuclear power plant from the PSDP in 2015.

The nuclear power plant is funded by China through a loan of Rs635 billion, which became a reason for its inclusion in the PSDP for the fiscal year 2019-20. So far, Rs102 billion has been spent on the plant and for the next fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs18 billion in the new budget.

The total number of schemes has been increased to over 1,113 after including the new ones and their financing requirements are estimated at Rs8 trillion, according to officials of the Ministry of Planning and Development. The new PSDP is subject to the approval of the National Economic Council (NEC) - a constitutional body which will meet on Wednesday.





However, the decision to include 300 new projects, mostly under political considerations, has further thinned out the already scarce resources.

The government has proposed an allocation of Rs675 billion for the new PSDP and at this pace of funding, it will require 12 years to complete all these projects. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has done exactly what the PML-N used to do - initiate new schemes in total disregard of rules of prudent fiscal management.

The total cost of the new schemes added to the PSDP is Rs1.54 trillion and the government has allocated Rs145 billion for carrying out work in the next fiscal year, said ministry officials. It appears to be an unwise move as, at present, about 817 schemes are underway with a total value of Rs6.5 trillion.

The 817 schemes have been allocated Rs530 billion for the next fiscal year and it includes spending of Rs124 billion in discretionary mode. Effectively, the 817 schemes would have Rs406 billion in budgetary allocation, which would adversely affect plans to timely complete these projects.

Only a few people are making decisions in the Ministry of Planning regarding the new PSDP. The ministry has also ignored a judgment of the Islamabad High Court by allowing Asif Sheikh to sit in official meetings. The court had declared the appointment of 72-year-old Sheikh illegal and the ministry had also issued his termination orders. Yet Sheikh was allowed to attend the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) meeting that recommended the next year’s PSDP for NEC approval. The NEC meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in the PM Office.

Planning Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar had criticised the PML-N for including more projects in the PSDP. After assuming power, the PTI government dropped nearly 400 projects from the PSDP in September.

This helped save funds of Rs55 billion and also resulted in a reduction of throw-forward liability by Rs1.9 trillion, according to the Ministry of Planning. In the revised PSDP for the outgoing fiscal year, the total number of projects had been reduced from 1,212 to 822.

Similarly, the throw-forward liability was reduced from Rs6.4 trillion to Rs4.4 trillion in the PSDP for the fiscal year 2018-19.

Following the inclusion of new schemes, the PSDP size has swelled to Rs8 trillion - even higher than the level the PML-N left behind.

The government has added 36 new schemes to the National Highway Authority’s (NHA) portfolio having a total cost of Rs570 billion. It has proposed an allocation of Rs38 billion for the new schemes. The value of NHA’s ongoing schemes is Rs1.42 trillion and after adding new projects, its total portfolio has jumped to Rs2 trillion.

Govt to spend 1% of PSDP on green programme

About six new schemes worth Rs325 billion have been added to the Pakistan Railways’ portfolio largely because of inclusion of the Mainline-I project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The size of the current portfolio of the railways is Rs162 billion. For Rs325 billion worth of schemes, the government has proposed Rs1.3-billion allocation for the next fiscal year.

The government has proposed 16 new projects for the Power Division costing Rs82.4 billion. The Power Division already has an outstanding portfolio of Rs720 billion. For the new schemes, the Power Division will get Rs6 billion.

Similarly, 32 new schemes of the Water Resources Division have been included in the PSDP costing Rs59 billion. The government has proposed Rs7.5 billion for these new schemes. The ongoing portfolio of the Water Resources Division is Rs2.3 trillion and the government has provided Rs85 billion for their completion.

Some of these projects would be funded by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) from its own resources.

Five new projects valuing at around Rs10.6 billion have been added to the portfolio of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). The government has proposed an allocation of Rs2.2 billion for these new schemes. The size of the ongoing schemes of PAEC is Rs1.1 trillion and the government has given Rs22 billion for their completion in the next fiscal year.

The Karachi nuclear power plant is part of the PAEC portfolio, which will receive Rs18 billion in the next fiscal year. The government has included 12 more schemes of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) worth Rs8.4 billion. It has proposed Rs6.4 billion for next year. The value of HEC’s ongoing schemes is Rs263 billion.

In addition to that, the government has included 21 schemes of the Ministry of Federal Education and Training having a total value of Rs29.8 billion. It has allocated Rs3.7 billion for the next year.

The government has also included some new projects that fall in the provinces’ domain despite facing fiscal constraints. It has proposed 23 new projects for the Ministry of National Food Security with a total value of Rs95.4 billion. An amount of Rs10.5 billion has been allocated for next year. The largest scheme is the National Project for Improvement of Water Courses worth Rs56.5 billion.

In the health sector, which is again a provincial subject, the government has proposed 28 new projects costing Rs25.7 billion. It has earmarked Rs6.5 billion for the next fiscal year.

About 13 projects of the Ministry of Information Technology have been added worth Rs66.6 billion.

The cost of new projects of the Cabinet Division is Rs124.4 billion and the government has set aside Rs31.4 billion for the new fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2019.

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