Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved National Development Internship Programme (NDIP) to mainstream the youth and involve them in national development.
Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chaired the Executive Committee of the ECNEC meeting. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, Federal Minister for Communications Mr. Asad Mehmood, Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Secretaries and other senior officers from Federal and Provincial ministries and departments participated in the meeting in person while Finance Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mr. Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, Finance Minister Govt of Punjab Mr. Mohammad Mohsin Leghari attended the meeting through zoom.
The National Development Internship Programme aims to enhance the capacity of young Pakistanis in their relevant educational areas, enhance their practical and technical skills, and provide an opportunity to introduce fresh ideas in the development sector of Pakistan.
The expenditure of the program will be met from the development projects being implemented under PSDP.
ECNEC reviews Indus Highway (N-55) carriage Project
The planning commission submitted a summary regarding the additional Indus Highway (N-55) carriage Project. The ECNEC considered and allowed 15% of procurement for one of the project’s four components in US dollars as per ADB guidelines.
The ECNEC approved the project on 1st October 2022 at Rs. 44,703.89 million with an ADB share of Rs. 40,233.50 million (US$ 241.27 million).
ECNEC approves Construction of the Northern Section of Ring Road
The ECNEC reviewed and approved the Construction of the Northern Section of Ring Road (Missing Link) from Warsak Road to Nasir Bagh Road- project at the rationalized/reduced cost of Rs. 17,139.007 million without any FEC, fully funded by Govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The project envisages the construction of a six-lane Northern section of the Peshawar Ring road from Warsak road to Nasir Bagh road with a total length of 7.8 Km. There will be a two-lane service road on each side of the Ring Road.
The ECNEC also considered and approved a provincial project named “Construction of Gravity Flow Water Supply Scheme Mansehra” at Rs. 18,583.41 million, to be executed by Govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The project aims to provide a gravity-flow potable water supply system for Mansehra city to fulfill the present and future needs up to 2040. The project, on its completion, will provide the required potable water supply facilities to the population of 201,249 persons for the designed period.
ECNEC PC-1 of Post-Flood 2022 Reconstruction Plan
The ECNEC approved PC-1 of the Post-Flood 2022 Reconstruction Plan: Resilience, Enhancement and Livelihood Diversification in Baluchistan project at a total cost of Rs. 88,000 million (US$ 400 Million) funded by the World Bank.
Federal Government and Govt of Baluchistan, through Federal PMU and Project Implementation Unit, will execute the project to support, finance, and incentivize Post-Flood reconstruction, resilience enhancement, and livelihood diversification initiatives with a focus on the flood-ravaged and resource-constrained province of Baluchistan.
The ECNEC approved Special Development Initiatives for Backward/Poor Districts in the country at Rs. 40 billion on a 50:50 basis between Federal and provincial governments. The project aims to support interventions to bring noticeable change in these districts’ social and economic fabric.
ECNEC approves Overseas Scholarships
The ECNEC approved Overseas Scholarships for MS/MPhil leading to Ph.D. in selected fields (Phase-III) at Rs. 22,214.578 million with FEC Rs. 21,402.142 million to give chances to young Pakistani scholars to pursue higher education at some of the world’s leading universities.
The ECNEC approved Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme-HEC(Phase-III) at Rs. 10,827.28 million to provide an opportunity to young and talented students studying in public sector higher education institutes across the country, including AJK and GB. Under the envisaged Phase-III project, 100K laptops would be distributed among deserving students in two years.
ECNEC approves project for Balochistan, erstwhile FATA students
The ECNEC approved a project regarding the availability of Higher Education Opportunities for Balochistan and erstwhile FATA students ( Phase-III) at Rs. 8,663.350 million to provide equal education opportunities to the talented students of the disadvantaged areas to bring them at par with developed and developing areas of the country creating a core of competent and qualified manpower.
The ECNEC considered and approved Sindh Human Capital Investment: 1000 days-Integrated Health and Population program at a total cost of Rs. 61,600 million, including foreign funds of Rs. 55,000.058 million by the World Bank to improve utilization and quality of reproductive, maternal, and neonatal, child and adolescent health and nutrition services, and women economic empowerment through skill development and micro-financing to a target population of 9.7 million in selected districts of Sindh province.
The ECNEC also approved Flood Response Emergency Housing Project at the rationalized cost of Rs. 160,000 million, including a World Bank loan of US$ 500 million to support the flood-affected people in all districts of Sindh in the climate-resilient reconstruction & repairs of their houses and helping them overcome the misery and trouble inflicted upon them during the recent rain disaster.
