Development budget increased by 230% during PML-N gov’t: Miftah

ISLAMABAD, Apr 27 (APP):Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail Friday said during the past five years, the PML(N) government spent over Rs.3,000 billion under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), as compared to around Rs.1,300 billion, spent during 2008-13, showing an increase of 230 percent.
“I am proud to say that, under the leadership of minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan
Iqbal, public money was spent with full fiduciary responsibility, transparency and
financial integrity for the benefit of our people,” the newly appointed finance minister said in his budget speech
here at the Parliament House.
Highlighting government’s special focus on $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the minister said under the vision of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif CPEC initiative had become a global brand of Pakistan. CPEC investments were mainly in energy, road and transport infrastructure and Gwadar, he added.
“As part of CPEC, our Government initiated road projects that would link north of Pakistan with Gwadar,” he said adding
trans-Pakistan corridor of motorways and special economic zones are designed to provide jobs, enhance manufacturing base, and
increase prosperity and growth.”
Karachi-Lahore Motorway, Thakot-Havelian Motorway, Eastbay Expressway Gwadar, and many other link roads in Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh are interlinking Pakistan like never before, he added.
As part of CPEC, the Government has also finalized a plan to increase the speed of trains on Main Line-I from Peshawar to Karachi by 3 times. The current average speed of trains on ML-I is 55 km per hour, which will be increased to160 km per hour by 2021, he added.
The project envisages doubling of track from Karachi to Peshawar and
from Taxila to Havalian. This requires an investment of more than $8 billion. This will
enable people to travel from North to South in 12 hours or even less, he added.