The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has taken serious notice of low fund utilisation in key projects of the Power Division and hydel power schemes being executed by the Water Resources Division, involving a combined approved cost of Rs1.7 trillion.

Chairing a high-level review meeting, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Prof Ahsan Iqbal directed the Secretaries of Planning, Finance, Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Power, and the Ministry of Water Resources to jointly identify financial, technical, and administrative bottlenecks and resolve them on a fast-track basis through coordinated action and stakeholder engagement.

The meeting reviewed the progress of critical Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects in the power and water sectors. It was attended by the Secretary Planning, Chief Economist Dr Imtiaz Ahmad, Member IRC, and senior officials from the Power, Finance, and EAD divisions, along with representatives of relevant line ministries.

A total of 37 critical power sector projects, with a combined approved cost of Rs1.7 trillion, came under review. Of this amount, Rs1.1 trillion had been utilised by June 2025, while the remaining Rs492.4 billion has been identified as throw-forward expenditure. For FY2025-26, the budget allocation stands at Rs104.7 billion, while an additional funding requirement of around Rs175 billion was projected during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Expressing concern over slow execution, the Minister directed the Power Division to prioritise near-completion projects, rationalise future financing needs, and formulate a realistic three-year execution framework with clearly defined PSDP funding requirements to ensure timely delivery of strategically important schemes.

Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the power and water sectors consume a substantial portion of the national development budget, making accelerated implementation critical. To ease fiscal pressure, he advised focusing on completing ongoing projects close to completion, rather than initiating new schemes with no physical progress, except in cases of compelling national need.

“The objective is to reduce the throw-forward and complete priority projects within defined timelines,” the Minister said, warning that delays not only inflate costs but also postpone the economic benefits of infrastructure development, including improved energy availability, industrial productivity, and investor confidence.

He further directed the Power Division to identify the most critical projects and submit minimum funding requirements for the next three years, along with a year-wise breakup to enable disciplined financial planning.

The review covered several major initiatives, including the 2×660MW Jamshoro coal-fired power plant (Rs177 billion), Advanced Metering Infrastructure under the Power Distribution Enhancement Investment Programme (Tranche-I) (Rs16.9 billion), Electricity Distribution Efficiency Improvement Projects in MEPCO and HESCO (Rs10.2 billion and Rs8.1 billion), the 500kV Matiari–Moro–Rahim Yar Khan transmission line (Rs188.5 billion), and an additional Electricity Distribution Efficiency Improvement Project costing Rs11.7 billion.

Key hydel and transmission projects were also reviewed, including the Dasu transmission lines, Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project, upgradation and extension of NTDC’s telecommunications and SCADA system at the National Power Control Centre, and the evacuation of power from the 2,160MW Dasu Hydropower Project (Stage-I).

The Minister noted that a disciplined three-year rolling plan would help prevent the accumulation of incomplete projects, contain fiscal stress, and ensure that public investments translate into tangible improvements in energy security and economic growth.

The meeting concluded with clear directions to the Secretary Power Division to address fund utilisation issues through closer coordination with the Finance and Planning Divisions, ensuring that development spending results in operational assets without further delays or cost escalations.