ECNEC approves Rs1.74 Trillion Dasu Project budget, a steep rise from before due to security, land acquisition, and operational delays.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has conditionally sanctioned the revised construction cost of the Dasu hydropower project, which now stands at Rs1.74 trillion; a steep 240% rise from its original budget.
As reported, the project’s revised price tag has climbed to $6.2 billion, up significantly from its initial estimate of Rs479 billion. This increase also covers the purchase of a helicopter to ensure secure travel for Chinese contractors, prompted by delays and enhanced security needs following attacks on project personnel.
The Dasu project, expected to produce 2,160 megawatts of electricity, will be financed through additional external and local loans, including a $1 billion loan from the World Bank and Rs350 billion from commercial borrowing.
Separately, ECNEC gave the green light to a Rs95.5 billion plan to build a new trade gateway at Wagah on the India-Pakistan border, aimed at improving infrastructure for cross-border commerce. The project will follow an international bidding process to ensure transparency.
ECNEC also approved a Rs15 billion plan to establish 30 anti-smuggling checkpoints along the River Indus and in Balochistan, using technology-driven solutions to reduce smuggling and boost tax collection.
Additional approvals included the second phase of the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project with a budget of Rs12.2 billion, and the Rs19 billion Mangi Dam project to help address Quetta’s water scarcity.
Other sanctioned initiatives cover education and energy, such as a Rs46.6 billion project to improve early childhood education in Sindh, and a Rs11.3 billion project to upgrade transmission systems in the Islamabad and Burhan regions.
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