Five new social sector projects completed across Malakand
ISLAMABAD, Aug 25 (ABC):Five social-sector schemes have been completed under the Saudi-funded Malakand Infrastructure Programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while work is progressing on a strategic 26-kilometre road in Chitral district.
According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the programme, financed by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), is aimed at developing and rehabilitating infrastructure damaged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The five completed social-sector schemes include rehabilitation of the Agriculture Research Institute in Swat, construction of educational facilities for special children, upgradation of a basic health unit to a Category-D hospital, construction of a thalassaemia department and rehabilitation of a veterinary research facility.
The Agriculture Research Institute in Swat has been rehabilitated at an approved cost of Rs191.95 million. The documents show expenditure of Rs189.67 million on the scheme, with physical progress recorded at 100%.
Construction of a Special Children School along with a Special Children Teacher Training School in Swat has also achieved 100% physical progress. The scheme had an approved cost of Rs217.55 million, against which expenditure of Rs214.44 million has been recorded.
In Lower Dir, the upgradation of the Basic Health Unit Hayasari to a Category-D hospital has been completed at an approved cost of Rs627.57 million. Expenditure on the scheme stood at Rs584.58 million.
The construction of a thalassaemia department at the District Headquarters Hospital in Batkhela, Malakand, has also achieved 100% physical progress. Its approved cost was Rs144.35 million, while expenditure stood at Rs135.64 million.
Similarly, rehabilitation of the Veterinary Research Centre in Swat has been completed at an approved cost of Rs154.09 million, with expenditure recorded at Rs130.15 million.
The documents also show that consultancy services for the five social-sector schemes have been completed. The consultancy component had an approved cost of Rs58.89 million, against which Rs55.79 million had been spent.
Apart from the social-sector schemes, the programme includes construction of the 26-kilometre Arandu-Kalkatak/Lowari Road in Chitral district.
The road scheme has an approved cost of Rs2.906 billion. Expenditure recorded in the document stands at Rs391.121 million.
According to the latest progress details, the joint survey for the road has been completed, while cross-section plotting is in progress. Site and bed cutting, procurement of construction materials and quarry testing are also underway.
The programme combines investment in health, education, agriculture and veterinary infrastructure with development of strategic road connectivity in the Malakand region.