CDWP approves 7 housing schemes worth Rs 283 Billion

The federal government cleared on Wednesday seven development schemes at a cost of Rs283 billion including the Peshawar metro bus project which was approved at 38% or Rs18-billion higher cost compared to the initial estimate of the provincial government.

In its maiden meeting, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) gave the go-ahead to five projects costing Rs141.93 billion and referred two schemes of Rs141 billion to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) for approval. According to its mandate, the CDWP can approve projects of up to Rs3 billion.

The CDWP deferred approval for the Sindh government’s Red Line Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) due to objections over its modalities. The Rs65.6-billion project was proposed to be financed by the federal and provincial governments through loans from the Asian Development Bank, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, French Agency for Development and Green Climate Fund.

The CDWP referred the Peshawar Sustainable Bus Rapid Transit Corridor project with a revised cost of Rs68 billion for Ecnec’s approval, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Planning. The project had been designed to provide a high-quality mass transit facility which would promote urban development, activities and density along the BRT corridor, thus improving economic growth besides giving access to the city, it added.

The 38% increase within one year of the project’s initial go-ahead suggests that the provincial government had launched the scheme without proper research.