Federal Govt announces 158 new development projects in Budget 2023-24

Islamabad: The federal government of Pakistan on Saturday decided to initiate 158 new development projects in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2023-24. These projects will be distributed across various provinces and ministries.

Notably, 32 projects will be undertaken by the power division, 8 by the National Highways Authority (NHA), and the establishment of 250 mini sports complexes nationwide will also be included in the budget.

Additionally, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will undertake 14 new schemes, including the creation of a National Cyber Security Academy. The National Health Services Regulation will initiate 7 projects, and the Prime Minister Hepatitis C program, costing Rs 74.36 billion, will commence in the next fiscal year.

Earlier, Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, announced that the government had approved a development budget of Rs 1,100 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. Out of this amount, Rs 950 billion will be allocated to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2023-24), while Rs 150 billion will be utilized through public-private partnerships for various development schemes.

The initial proposed budget of Rs 700 billion for PSDP 2023-24 was deemed insufficient, leading to a written request by the Ministry of Finance to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to increase the development budget. Consequently, the prime minister approved the allocation of Rs 1,100 billion for development projects.