PM Imran to lay foundation stone of Jalapur canal today
Project will be built at a cost of Rs48 billion and completed by 2024
Prime Minister Imran Khan. PHOTO: PTI
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Imran Khan will lay the foundation stone of the 117-kilometre-long Jalapur-Kundwal canal in Jhelum on Thursday.
This project will be built at a cost of Rs48 billion and completed by 2024.
The ceremony will be attended by Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, Jahangir Tareen and Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, whose constituency the project falls in.
The irrigation project was envisioned 121 years ago. The project is a new non-perennial irrigation system for enhancing the agricultural produce in Pind Dadan Khan and Khaushab.
The canal originating from Rasul Bridge will terminate at Khushab after passing through Pind Dadan Khan.
Around 170,000 acres will be cultivated through the project. The water flow in the canal will be 1,350 cusecs. The project will provide 48% clean drinking water to 17 different villages.
2020 will be the year of progress, says PM Imran
The expenses to be incurred on this project will be shared by Asian Development Bank and Punjab government.
Fawad Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that $274 million for the project would be provided by the Asian Development Bank. “The project will benefit over 500,000 people,” he added.
It took the ADB and the government of Punjab almost six years to plan and make the project effective. The scheme had for the first time been prioritised in the Country Partnership Strategy (2009-13) to improve the irrigation infrastructure.
The project will convert over 68,000 hectares of less productive and predominantly rain-fed area into irrigated farmland.
Agriculture remains a crucial component of Pakistan’s economy, contributing 20% of the gross domestic product and employing 42% of the labour force in fiscal year 2015, with Punjab contributing more than 80% of the agricultural output.
The Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform has estimated that the agriculture sector has to grow 5% per year to reduce the poverty incidence and ensure food security, and for the national economy to reach its 7-8% annual growth target.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will lay the foundation stone of the 117-kilometre-long Jalapur-Kundwal canal in Jhelum on Thursday.
This project will be built at a cost of Rs48 billion and completed by 2024.
The ceremony will be attended by Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, Jahangir Tareen and Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, whose constituency the project falls in.
The irrigation project was envisioned 121 years ago. The project is a new non-perennial irrigation system for enhancing the agricultural produce in Pind Dadan Khan and Khaushab.
The canal originating from Rasul Bridge will terminate at Khushab after passing through Pind Dadan Khan.
Around 170,000 acres will be cultivated through the project. The water flow in the canal will be 1,350 cusecs. The project will provide 48% clean drinking water to 17 different villages.
2020 will be the year of progress, says PM Imran
The expenses to be incurred on this project will be shared by Asian Development Bank and Punjab government.
Fawad Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that $274 million for the project would be provided by the Asian Development Bank. “The project will benefit over 500,000 people,” he added.
It took the ADB and the government of Punjab almost six years to plan and make the project effective. The scheme had for the first time been prioritised in the Country Partnership Strategy (2009-13) to improve the irrigation infrastructure.
The project will convert over 68,000 hectares of less productive and predominantly rain-fed area into irrigated farmland.
Agriculture remains a crucial component of Pakistan’s economy, contributing 20% of the gross domestic product and employing 42% of the labour force in fiscal year 2015, with Punjab contributing more than 80% of the agricultural output.
The Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform has estimated that the agriculture sector has to grow 5% per year to reduce the poverty incidence and ensure food security, and for the national economy to reach its 7-8% annual growth target.