PDWP approves projects worth billions

Rs3b initiative to provide loans for young entrepreneurs

PESHAWAR:

The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has approved projects worth billions of rupees, including the Ehsaas Hunarmand (Skilled Workforce) Programme.

The ninth meeting of the PDWP was chaired by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Additional Chief Secretary Ikramullah Khan and was attended by PDWP members and officials from relevant departments.

The forum approved the Ehsaas Hunarmand Program, a Rs3 billion initiative aimed at providing skilled youth with interest-free loans of up to Rs. 500,000 to support their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Over 35,000 skilled individuals across the province are expected to benefit from this programme.

The meeting also approved a 26-kilometer road construction project in the Chitral district, along with several key initiatives in sectors such as irrigation, education, health, social welfare, and local government.

Under the Accelerated Development Programme, approval was granted for the command areas of small dams already completed. Additional projects include the construction of flood protection structures and bridges in Matta tehsil, Swat, restoration of the CRBC and Paharpur Canal systems in Dera Ismail Khan, and the development of solar lift irrigation schemes and feasibility studies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Moreover, initiatives for the rehabilitation of flood-affected infrastructure in districts Swat, Shangla, and Buner, and the construction of essential facilities like tube wells and crossings in Alpuri and Bisham tehsils of Shangla were approved.

The forum sanctioned multiple other projects, such as improving irrigation facilities in Swat, reconstructing agriculture research facilities, and upgrading health infrastructure, including the elevation of a Basic Health Unit in Dir Lower to a Category-D hospital.

The establishment of specialised facilities, such as a Thalassemia Department at District Headquarters Hospital Batkhela, Malakand, and schools for special children in Swat and Malakand Division, was also approved.

Additionally, the government sanctioned the creation of a monitoring and evaluation system for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, blacktop road construction in South Waziristan's Wana, and secondary hospitals' capacity enhancement in merged districts.

Educational initiatives include the establishment of five model schools in Karak, Haripur, Charsadda, Hangu, and Battagram, along with a pilot project for three model religious seminaries and the creation of computer labs in registered religious seminaries across the province. Infrastructure projects such as the Batkhela bypass road, restoration of the Bonny-Buzand-Torkho road in Upper Chitral, and rehabilitation of bridges in North Waziristan were also approved.

Lastly, the upgrading and restoration of the Lawrencepur-Tarbela road, under the PSDP, was cleared during the session.

These projects signify a comprehensive effort to foster development across multiple sectors in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, addressing the province's infrastructural, social, and economic needs.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is actively pursuing development projects to address its socio-economic challenges and enhance infrastructure.