Rs1.175tr uplift budget to be cleared today

ISLAMABAD: The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) is set to clear a Rs1.175 trillion national development budget for the new fiscal year, which is just Rs20 billion higher than the original budget for the outgoing fiscal year.

Headed by Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal, the APCC will meet today (Monday) to clear the national development budget for the endorsement of the National Economic Council, which is headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The total national development budget was Rs1.155 trillion in the outgoing fiscal year, ending on June 30.

But due to federal fiscal constraints leading to a Rs190 billion cut on federal uplift allocation and provinces’ lack of capacity to spend and delay in finalisation of their development agendas in line with ruling parties’ priorities the actual spending is likely to remain at around Rs600 billion.

The Rs1.175 trillion national development budget includes Rs192 billion foreign loans, which amounts to 16.3% of the proposed envelope.

In keeping with the federal focus of the PML-N, Rs525 billion have been proposed for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

One-fifth of the amount will be financed by borrowing Rs102 billion from foreign sources. The proposed PSDP is Rs15 billion less than the original budget of this year but significantly higher than the anticipated spending of Rs350 billion in the outgoing fiscal.

The proposed PSDP is 17% of next year’s tax target and 13.5% of next year proposed budget outlay of Rs3.864 trillion.

Similarly, another Rs655 billion have been proposed for the Annual Development Plans, up by Rs40 billion over original budget of the outgoing year. But the actual provincial spending is likely to remain around Rs250 billion.

Setting the tone for his government’s second year in office, the PML-N administration is set to allocate Rs113.5 billion for communication sector projects. The allocation includes Rs49 billion for Pak-China Economic Corridor.

Under the corridor, the government is going to allocate Rs13 billion for land acquisition for Karachi-Lahore Motorway.

The government will also undertake studies to review the financial and technical feasibility studies to link Gwadar with China and construct a new dry port at Khuzdar.

In addition, the PML-N led administration is going to make allocations for Dasu hydropower project and Diamer-Bhasha dam.

According to sources, Ahsan Iqbal is said to be in favour of focusing on new projects aimed at improving human resources development and millennium development goals. An amount of Rs1.4 billion has been proposed for human resources development.

For the Higher Education Commission an amount of Rs19.3 billion has been proposed as against Rs18.5 billion in the outgoing fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2014.