Peshawar’s Provincial Development Working Party has approved 21 schemes worth over Rs34 billion in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The package includes road upgrades in Peshawar, dialysis services in merged districts and projects in Dera Ismail Khan and other areas.

PESHAWAR: The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has cleared 21 development schemes in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with a combined cost of more than Rs34 billion, according to details shared after a high-level meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary of the Planning and Development Department Islam Zeb.

The approved portfolio covers urban rehabilitation, health services and infrastructure works across the province. A major portion of the funding was allocated under the Peshawar Revitalization Plan, through which more than Rs8 billion was sanctioned for the improvement of 16 major roads in the provincial capital.

The report said two projects linked to the upgradation of key roads in Peshawar were approved during the 20th PDWP meeting in line with directives issued by Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi. The road schemes are intended to make travel for residents safer, smoother and of better quality.

Healthcare and merged districts

In the health sector, the forum approved the provision of dialysis services for kidney patients at seven District Headquarters hospitals in the merged districts. The facilities are to be established at DHQ hospitals in Khar in Bajaur, Miranshah in North Waziristan, Ghalanai in Mohmand, Parachinar in Upper Kurram, Wana in South Waziristan, Landi Kotal in Khyber and Masty Mela in Orakzai.

The decision adds a healthcare component to the wider package of development measures approved by the provincial planning body at the meeting.

District and institutional projects

Among the other schemes approved by the PDWP was a comprehensive development package for Dera Ismail Khan district. The forum also cleared the construction of tehsil buildings in Haripur, Shabqadar, Charsadda and Bakka Khel in Bannu.

The meeting further approved a feasibility study and infrastructure development plan for upgrading the Pakistan Forest Institute into a degree-awarding institute. In addition, a feasibility study was cleared for the conservation of non-timber forest products through effective region-based protection measures.

The approvals reflect a mix of road, public service, health and institutional development initiatives taken up by the provincial government through the PDWP forum.