ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday directed relevant ministries to finalise a prioritised list of the most critical power and hydel projects to be completed over the next three years, as part of efforts to reduce delays, control costs and strengthen energy security.
While reviewing Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) schemes in the power sector, the minister was informed that 37 critical projects with a combined approved cost of Rs1.7 trillion were currently under implementation. Of this amount, Rs1.1 trillion had been spent up to June 30, while the throw-forward stood at Rs492.4 billion. The allocation for the ongoing fiscal year 2025–26 is Rs104.7 billion, with an additional demand of around Rs175 billion indicated during the first quarter.
Chairing the meeting, Mr Iqbal emphasised that periodic portfolio reviews were essential to ensure scarce public resources were aligned with national priorities. Such reviews, he said, would help identify cost overruns and implementation bottlenecks at an early stage and ensure projects with the highest economic and social returns were completed on time.
The minister directed the planning, finance, economic affairs, power and water resources ministries to jointly identify financial, technical and administrative hurdles and resolve them on a fast-track basis through coordinated action and stakeholder engagement.
He stressed that a disciplined three-year rolling framework was necessary to avoid the accumulation of incomplete projects, ease fiscal pressures and convert public investment into tangible gains in energy security and economic growth.
Mr Iqbal instructed the Power Division to prioritise near-completion projects, rationalise future financing and prepare a realistic three-year execution framework, along with detailed PSDP funding requirements. He also called for a project-wise break-up of critical schemes, including annual financing and implementation plans for the next three years.
“Near-completion projects must be prioritised so that sunk investments can be converted into operational assets at the earliest,” the minister said, adding that the overarching objective was to reduce the throw-forward and complete priority projects within defined timelines.
Delays, he noted, not only escalated costs but also deferred key economic benefits, including improved energy availability, higher industrial productivity and stronger investor confidence.
Story by Amin Ahmed
