CPEC No More the Top Priority! Budget Allocation Slashed to Rs110b against Rs198b Reserved in 2018-19

CPEC No More the Top Priority! Budget Allocation Slashed to Rs110b against Rs198b Reserved in 2018-19
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is seemingly not a top priority for the PTI government, as it has slashed the allocations for the venture by 44 per cent.

A report published by The News says the amount allocated for the CPEC projects in the Public Sector Development Programme for 2018-19 was Rs198 billion, but it is Rs110 billion in the budget for the next fiscal year.

It is coupled with the fact that the government hasn’t increased the allocations for development spending under the PSDP.


According to the report, the total allocated amount of federal share of PSDP stood at Rs675 billion, with another Rs250 billion earmarked under the public-private partnership mode. Therefore, total PSDP was envisaged at Rs925 billion.

Some of the major allocations for development purposes are:

Rs24 billion Prime Minister’s Sustainable Development Goals programme executed through parliamentarians, Rs28.648 billion Higher Education Commission, Rs44 billion Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Rs13.376 billion National Health Services Regulation & Coordination Division, Rs24.457 billion Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Rs16 billion Railways and Rs85.021 billion Water Resource Division.

Rs100 billion for special programmes managed by the Finance Division including for internally-displaced persons and security enhancement of FATA and Rs160 billion for national highways.

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