Ecnec clears development projects worth Rs367bn
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Monday approved a total of nine development projects worth about Rs367 billion mainly to ensure international development assistance. The meeting was presided over by Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar and attended by Sami Saeed and Shahid Ashraf Tarar, the ministers for Planning and CommÂunications respectively. However, Ecnec deferred Rs38.4bn worth of the Greater Thal Canal Project for lack of consultations with the provinces. Ecnec approved a Rs20.098bn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Security Support Project. The Asian Development Bank has already approved last week a $80m concessional loan for the project as part of its $1.5bn pledge of support for Pakistan’s recovery from the 2022 floods. The project has been conceived to address the climate vulnerabilities, improve the food security and livelihood of rural farm households and address the mid- and long-term needs for institutional capacity enhancement in the most flood-damaged districts of KP.