PDWP approves Rs34b development projects

The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has approved 21 development projects worth over Rs34 billion in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The high-level meeting, chaired by Islam Zeb, Additional Chief Secretary of the Planning and Development Department, greenlit a range of initiatives aimed at urban rehabilitation, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Under the Peshawar Revitalization Plan, more than Rs8 billion was sanctioned for the upgrade of 16 major highways in the provincial capital. Following directives from Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi, two specific projects were approved during the 20th PDWP meeting to improve and upgrade major Peshawar roads, promising safer, easier, and higher-quality travel for citizens.

In a significant move for healthcare, the forum approved the provision of dialysis services for kidney patients at seven District Headquarters (DHQ) hospitals in the merged districts. These services will be established at DHQ hospitals in Khar (Bajaur), Miranshah (North Waziristan), Ghalanai (Mohmand), Parachinar (Upper Kurram), Wana (South Waziristan), Landi Kotal (Khyber), and Masty Mela (Orakzai).

Other approved projects include a comprehensive development package for Dera Ismail Khan district, along with the construction of tehsil buildings in Haripur, Shabqadar, Charsadda, and Bakka Khel (Bannu).

Key schemes also encompassed the feasibility study and infrastructure development to upgrade the Pakistan Forest Institute to a degree-awarding institute; a feasibility study for the conservation of non-timber forest products through effective region-based protection measures.