ECNEC approves largest healthcare project in Pakistan’s history

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has granted approval to Rs70 billion healthcare project. Complete with 45 billion new healthcare facilities across the country, it has been termed “the largest healthcare project ever”.

The news comes courtesy of Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who took to Twitter to announce the approval of the mega healthcare project.

“ECNEC approved the largest health care project ever done by federal govt worth Rs. 70 billion,” he tweeted. “The project includes 45 billion for new health care facilities, 7 billion for national health surveillance, 13 billion water sanitation & hygiene & interventions in less developed areas.”

The momentous decision to approve the project was taken during an ECNEC meeting chaired by Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Thursday.

The project will include a national health upgrade, a national program for water and sanitation and hygiene, natural calamity control, and novel coronavirus interventions for under-developed areas.

Other major projects of note were also approved by the ECNEC committee, spread across various provinces.

The committee approved Phase-II of the ‘Pak-China Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) project worth Rs37.9 billion to establish a cross-border OFC network (Khunjerab-Karachi) along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) routes. The project will provide an alternate path for international connectivity through the Sino-Pak northern border.

For Balochistan, the committee approved Package IV i.e. construction of 100 dams in Balochistan at the total cost of Rs13.5 billion. The project will be executed by the Balochistan Irrigation Department in three-years-time. The project is designed to harness flood flows for direct irrigation, groundwater recharge, and agricultural development through the construction of small dams throughout the province.

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the committee approved KP human capital investment project at the total cost of Rs18.9 billion. The project has been financed by the World Bank/IDA and it aims to bolster basic education infrastructure in the districts of Peshawar, Haripur, Nowshera, and Swabi.