Islamabad: Federal government has allocated Rs11.39 billion for 23 development projects in Gwadar in the Public Sector Development Program 2022-23. These details were made public on Friday evening when the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 was announced.
Eight of the projects of Gwadar included in PSDP are related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This biggest allocation in the budget is Rs2 Billion for New Gwadar International Airport. After the release of this amount, the remaining cost of this project will be 46.7 billion and it will not be possible to complete it by the end of 2023, as claimed by the government.
The second biggest allocation is Rs684 million for two desalination plants combined. For the 5 MGD Desalination Plant, the remaining cost was 2.3 billion but the government has only allocated 600 million. For the 1.2 MGD Plant, the remaining cost was 2.2 billion but a paltry allocation of 84 million has been made. This has raised the fears of locals that the government is not taking the problem of water supply seriously in Gwadar.
Moreover, the government has also allocated 1 billion for the maintenance Dredging of Gwadar Port. This decision comes against the Prime Minister’s revelation that the PTI government did not carry out dredging of Gwadar port, which has prevented large ships from docking at the port.
Additionally, 800 million has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the old town of Gwadar, which is not significant given the problems of the old town, which was the breeding ground for Haq Do Tehreek (Give Rights Movement) of Gwadar.
Moreover, 500 million have been allocated to provide 2000 engines to poor fishermen of Gwadar. This decision has been made to placate the fishermen’s community of the Gwadar, which was the main human resource provider for Had Do Tehreek Protests.
In the area of education, 350 million have been allocated for the University of Gwadar and 100 million for Cadet College Gwadar.
MPA of Gwadar Hammal Kalmati and Balochistan National Party – Mengal (BNP-Mengal) are taking credit on social media for the allocations mentioned above for fishermen, old town, and the education sector of Gwadar.
Other significant allocations include 688 million for the completion of the Gwadar Safe City project and 252 million for developing a Perimetric Security System for Gwadar Port. These allocations underscore the need to beef up the security of Gwadar city and the port in light of growing regional security threats.
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