ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved the project of Land Acquisition for Lai Expressway & Flood Channel in Rawalpindi worth of Rs 24,960.70 million with directions that no expenditure will be incurred till completion of EIA report and approval of the project from PPP Board.
The approval was accorded in the ECNEC meeting presided over by the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin in Islamabad.
The Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umer, the Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, the Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, the Minister for Irrigation Department Punjab Muhammad Mohsin Leghari, Federal Secretaries and other senior officers from federal as well as provincial governments participated in the meeting.
The Lai Expressway & Flood Channel project will be executed by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).
The project envisages the acquisition of 750 Kanals of land to provide a clear Right of Way for the construction of the Lai Nullah Expressway and Flood Channel project which would constitute an integral part of the transportation network of Rawalpindi besides flood mitigation and sewage disposal.
The ECNEC also approved a project on the construction of Rawalpindi Ring Road – R3, main carriageway from Baanth (N-5) to Thallian (M-2) amounting to Rs 23,606.214 million with the condition to acquire the concurrence of the Planning Commission and inclusion of Axel load management in the project.
The Provincial Annual Development Programme (ADP) will finance the project and the RDA will execute the project for the construction of 6 lanes access-controlled Rawalpindi Ring Road 38.3 kilometers in length.
Besides, the ECNEC considered and approved the revised project for the construction of Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway on a Built Operate Transfer (BOT) basis with a cost of Rs 191,471.074 million.
The project will be executed by the National Highway Authority (NHA) and envisages the construction of 306 km long, 06-lane wide, divided fenced between Hyderabad and Sukkur.
The ECNEC also approved the revised Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP) worth Rs 25,243.131 million.
Contributions from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), the Government of Punjab and Beneficiaries will assist the funding of the project spread over 10 districts of Punjab.
In addition, the ECNEC discussed in detail and deferred the Greater Thal Canal Project (Phase-II) with observations to discuss in the next meeting after considering the technical aspect of the project inclusion of comments of the Sindh province in the report of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and addressing the reservations of all the stakeholders.
