admin No Comments

ISLAMABAD: The government is learnt to have set aside Rs44 billion, or a quarter of CPEC funding, for the next fiscal year, giving the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor its first serious push, initiating the construction of roads in the country’s underdeveloped areas. At the same time, CPEC’s eastern route, which is at an advanced stage of completion, was also given required financial resources in the Public Sector Development Programme 2017-18. The next fiscal will be the third year of execution of CPEC projects. The allocation and spending patterns of CPEC projects suggest that work on the eastern route will be completed faster than the western route.

For the new financial year, the government has set aside Rs180 billion for CPEC projects, including Rs5 billion block allocations, said Minister for Planning & Development Ahsan Iqbal. The total cost of CPEC infrastructure projects is estimated at Rs1.08 trillion, which is about one-third higher than the previous year. So far, Rs231 billion has been spent on these schemes, mainly on eastern route projects, leaving a balance of about Rs850 billion that will be spent in the coming years.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *