ISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (ABC): Spending on 10 projects under the federal Kohlu Development Package has reached Rs7.915 billion against a combined approved cost of Rs7.958 billion, with road infrastructure accounting for the largest share of the development portfolio.
According to a document available with Wealth Pakistan, the package covers road, education, healthcare, electricity, water supply and irrigation projects in Balochistan’s Kohlu district.
The document states that these projects form part of the broader Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package, which the federal government launched in November 2009 to address constitutional, political, administrative and economic development issues in the province.
Roads dominate development spending
The largest project under the package is the construction of the Sibi-Rakhni Road via Maiwand, covering the Talli-Kohlu section from kilometre 24 to kilometre 164.
The project’s approved cost and reported expenditure both stand at Rs6.545 billion.
Another Rs222.245 million has been spent on constructing blacktop roads linking villages with Kohlu town, while the Kohlu bypass road recorded expenditure of Rs197.860 million. Both projects have reached their approved costs.
Education, health and utilities
The education component includes the establishment of a Cadet College and a Government Inter Girls’ College in Kohlu.
The Cadet College project recorded expenditure of Rs218.754 million, matching its approved cost. Expenditure on the Government Inter Girls’ College reached Rs102.096 million against an approved cost of Rs125 million.
In the healthcare sector, the 50-bed hospital project recorded expenditure of Rs205.094 million against an approved cost of Rs225.704 million.
The power component includes the construction of a 132-kilovolt grid station at Kohlu, where expenditure reached the full approved cost of Rs330.043 million.
The package also financed the installation of an 11-kilovolt Tamboo feeder to Mast Tawalki, with expenditure of Rs10 million matching the approved allocation.
Water infrastructure projects include the Kohlu water supply scheme and the Kahan Irrigation Scheme. Both projects recorded expenditure equal to their approved costs, amounting to Rs67.584 million and Rs16.434 million, respectively.
Two projects still below approved cost
According to the document, expenditure has reached the approved cost for eight of the 10 projects under the package.
The only exceptions are the 50-bed hospital and the Government Inter Girls’ College. Together, these two projects account for the Rs43.514 million gap between the package’s total approved cost of Rs7.958 billion and reported expenditure of Rs7.915 billion.
The document states that federal and provincial ministries and agencies implemented projects under the package. It adds that the Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Division oversees projects financed through the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
According to the document, the federal government continues to prioritise less-developed regions, particularly Balochistan, through development projects implemented under the PSDP.
