Federal government reviews progress on mega projects

Islamabad:      The economic team of the Prime Minister reviewed progress on mega projects on Wednesday. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.

Other attendees of the meeting included Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, Minister for Economic Affairs Division, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Industry & Production and Investment, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Secretary Finance, Secretary Food Security & Research Division, and Secretary Planning Development & Reforms.

The Minister for Planning, Development and Reform briefed the team about the progress on the mega projects of the public sector development programme initiated by the federal government. He also presented the comprehensive road map of how to execute and complete all the projects within the current fiscal year. He informed the members that latest technology will be used to conduct monitoring and evaluation of the on-going projects.

Minister for Economic Affairs Division informed the team that sufficient financial resources have been provided by the development partners for projects of social and infrastructure sectors of both federal and provincial governments.

It was highlighted that procedures for the release and utilisation of the development funds will be eased. Likewise, it was discussed that concrete measures will be taken to improve Ease of Doing Business so that investors’ confidence could be improved and reinstated.

Similarly, Special Economic Zones and Export Processing Zones need to be operationalised on immediate basis in coordination with the provincial governments to enhance the foreign direct investment.