Islamabad: Today, the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division of the National Assembly met at the Parliament House, chaired by Muhammad Atif (MNA). The committee focused on evaluating multilateral projects and the complexities of local currency components in foreign transactions, as briefed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs Division (EAD).
According to National Assembly of Pakistan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs Division provided an extensive overview of the challenges impeding the swift execution of projects. The briefing highlighted several procedural hurdles such as the laborious preparation and approval of Project Concept-1 (PC-I) documents, delays in setting up project-specific accounts, and a prevalent lack of clarity on the requirements set by development partners. The EAD suggested that establishing Project Management Units (PMUs) promptly and appointing dedicated project directors could potentially reduce delays caused by human resource issues.
The committee underscored the significance of integrating factors like land acquisition, local concerns, and security into the project policy frameworks across both provincial and federal levels. Muhammad Atif emphasized developing a strategic approach for foreign-funded projects to enhance their execution and tackle the root causes of the delays.
A consensus was reached among the members to request a detailed briefing from the Secretary of Planning concerning project policies. The aim is to develop recommendations that could resolve the challenges leading to project execution delays. The committee members agreed that projects crucial to national interests should be expedited and not be bogged down by routine procedural setbacks.
Further, the EAD reaffirmed its commitment to improve coordination with provincial and federal governments to speed up the execution of both multilateral and other significant projects. It was proposed that separate briefings be held for each multilateral project, inviting the respective executing agencies to discuss the current status of projects, existing issues, and to devise recommendations for faster implementation.
Currently, the EAD oversees several projects with major international financial institutions including 18 with the Asian Development Bank, 21 with the World Bank, three with the Islamic Development Bank, one with the OPEC Fund, two with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and one with the International Fund for Agricultural Development. These projects cover diverse sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture, public sector management, finance, and health.
The meeting was attended by members including Mr. Muhammad Jawed Hanif Khan, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Mr. Bilal Azhar Kayani, Mr. Ammar Ahmad Khan Leghari, Ms. Akhtar Bibi, Mr. Sher Ali Arbab, Mr. Ali Afzal Sahi (online), the Secretary of Economic Affairs, and officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs Division.