Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday expressed concern over the slow pace of development projects under the Southern balochistan Development Package.
The prime minister was chairing a high-level meeting to review the progress of uplift projects in Balochistan, worth at least Rs655 billion.
During the meeting, Imran was informed that the apex committee headed by the Balochistan chief minister to oversee the projects met only once last year.
The premier said the apex committee is supposed to meet every month and the executive committee every fortnight to ensure the uplift programmes, of which there are around 200, are completed on time.
The prime minister also directed the authorities concerned to complete Turbat airport and nursing colleges in turbat and Gwadar at the earliest. He said he will now hold review committee meetings every month to remove impediments in the completion of development projects.
Imran added that issues of Balochistan are different from the rest of the country as its population was scattered across the province which required out-of-the-box solutions.
He directed the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, and the Government of Balochistan to work in close coordination to accelerate the work on transport, energy, and infrastructure projects under the development package.
Earlier, the PM was briefed that Balochistan produced 40 per cent of the locally produced gas in the country. The premier was advised that the ownership of the federal government was needed to solve various issues being faced by the province.
The premier directed the Balochistan government to revamp its governance structure at the grassroots level, not only to accelerate the pace of work on development projects but also to improve service delivery to the citizens.
He also directed the authorities concerned to launch an effective media campaign to ensure public awareness of the government’s initiatives.
