KEY POINTS
- PKR 2,683.65 million will fund ongoing projects
- PKR 2,783.65 million is set aside for new projects
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government has earmarked PKR 5,467.3 million in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for fiscal year 2025–26 to finance a mix of ongoing and new initiatives aimed at promoting environmental sustainability and addressing urban development challenges across the country.
Out of the total, PKR 2,683.65 million will fund existing projects, including PKR 25 million for water quality monitoring aligned with SDG 6.1, PKR 2,250 million for the first phase of the Green Pakistan Programme, PKR 83.39 million for managing the Bio-Safety Clearing House to regulate GMOs, and PKR 325.26 million to strengthen the technical capacities of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Commission.
For new initiatives, PKR 2,783.65 million has been allocated, with PKR 50 million earmarked for formulating a National Urban Strategy and spatial planning guidelines to address urban flooding, droughts, and other climate risks.
An additional PKR 50 million will support the Green Skills for Climate Resilient Development project, aimed at fostering green entrepreneurship and climate innovation in the country.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday unveiled the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025–26, with a total outlay of PKR 17.573 trillion, down 7% as compared to the PKR 18.9 trillion budgeted outlay of FY25.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb announced that the budget targeted a modest 4.2 percent growth for the coming fiscal year, compared to 2.7 percent in the outgoing fiscal year 2025-26.
The CPI inflation rate is budgeted to be around 7.5 percent in FY26, whereas the budget deficit is expected to be around 3.9 percent of the GDP, while the primary surplus is budgeted at 2.4 percent of the GDP.
“We are focused on economic stability and prosperity. We want an economy which is equitable and sustainable,” said Aurangzeb in his address.
Talking about the outgoing fiscal, the finance minister said that the country achieved a surplus of around 2.4 percent of the GDP in FY25, whereas the CPI rate declined to 4.7 percent.
“We expect a current account surplus of around $1.5 billion this fiscal,” he said, adding that remittance inflows are expected to hit $37-38 billion in FY25.
On taxation measures, the finance minister said that from July onwards, the tax filing process will be simplified.
