CDWP Rs213 billion projects moved forward on October 26, when the Central Development Working Party met in Islamabad under Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. The forum approved 10 projects worth Rs40.915 billion outright and recommended three larger projects, worth Rs172.25 billion, to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.
The initiatives cover water, education, youth development, power, roads and broadcasting under the URAAN Pakistan agenda.
Two water projects lead the list
The largest items are two water sector schemes. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Resilient Irrigated Agriculture Livelihoods Development Project, valued at Rs69.893 billion, will be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank and the provincial government. The bank will contribute Rs56.133 billion and the provincial government Rs11.692 billion, with land acquisition funded separately through a dedicated PC-I.
It will rehabilitate the Pehur Main Canal, build the Mulkhow Irrigation Distribution System, and extend the Pehur High Level Canal.
The second scheme is the Rs85.342 billion Integrated Hill Torrent Management project for the Chachar and Mithawan areas of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur in Punjab. The Asian Development Bank will contribute Rs73.06 billion, and the Punjab government will provide Rs12.282 billion. It includes modern spate irrigation systems, flood protection channels, telemetry and centralised supervisory control and data acquisition monitoring.
CDWP Rs213 billion projects: education and youth schemes
The CDWP approved in principle several education and youth initiatives, subject to reviews and adjustments. These include Daanish Schools across Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, with a stated cost of Rs122.4 million, with costs to be rationalised. A Daanish School in Kuri, Islamabad, costing Rs7.357 billion, was approved in principle, as was one in Kan Mehterzai, Qila Saifullah, Balochistan, valued at Rs4.528 billion, with a technical review committee tasked with streamlining that project.
Youth initiatives approved in principle include the Prime Minister’s Youth Development Centres project (Rs4.145 billion), the Talent Hunt Youth Sports League Phase I (Rs3.988 billion), the National Innovation Award (Rs1.97 billion), and Youth Program Sports Academies with a High Performance and Resource Centre and Youth Olympics (Rs2.956 billion). Third-party validation and structured monitoring will apply to the youth centres, and a Pakistan Sports Board steering committee will coordinate the sports league.
Power, solar and broadcasting projects
In power, the CDWP approved in principle a pilot Battery Energy Storage System at the 220 kV Jhimpir-I Grid Station (Rs4.395 billion) to support grid stability and renewable integration.
The Prime Minister’s Solar Scheme for Newly Merged Districts (Rs13.323 billion) was approved in principle and referred to ECNEC to provide off-grid solar energy to households there. The forum also approved in principle the revamping of Pakistan Television Corporation (Rs3.962 billion) for digital transformation and long-term financial sustainability.
Road schemes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Lahore
The CDWP recommended the Rs17.012 billion improvement and widening of National Highway N-45, Section I, covering the 39-kilometre Chakdara to Timergara stretch, to ECNEC. Exim Bank foreign funding is expected, and the upgrade will improve a corridor connecting Chakdara, Timergara, Dir and Chitral, supporting trade, road safety and tourism in the Kalash, Shandur and Kumrat valleys.
The forum also approved an eight-lane overhead bridge at Imamia Colony Railway Crossing on N-5 in Shahdara, Lahore (Rs7.492 billion), with connecting road works to ease congestion in Shahdara Town.
Why the CDWP and ECNEC split matters
The meeting produced two lists because the CDWP clears schemes itself and sends the largest ones to ECNEC, the government’s top development approval forum, for a final decision before funds flow.
The same route was followed for the 117-kilometre Kharian to Rawalpindi Motorway (M-13), which Feature Pakistan reported ECNEC approved in April 2026 at Rs203.32 billion. Road building remains a major theme: Feature Pakistan reported Peshawar has cleared more than 450 structures along its Ring Road. Education is the other thread, sitting alongside the Youth Chromebook Scheme, under which 500,000 devices will go to students over two years, as Feature Pakistan reported.
What happens next
The three ECNEC-referred projects now wait for final consideration, while the in-principle approvals go through the directed reviews, including cost rationalisation for the Daanish Schools and a technical review for Kan Mehterzai.
What is the CDWP?
The Central Development Working Party is the federal forum that appraises development projects and clears them for approval, chaired by the planning minister.
