The Punjab PDWP has approved development schemes worth Rs63,050 million, or Rs63.05 billion. The ninth meeting of the forum was held on 12 October at the Planning and Development Board in Lahore, and the schemes fall in the financial year 2026-27. Dr Naeem Rauf, chairman of the board, chaired the sitting.
The Provincial Development Working Party is Punjab's forum for approving provincial development schemes. The Planning and Development Board, often shortened to the P&D Board, hosted the meeting. Three schemes have published costs, and those costs add up to the Rs63,050 million total. The same meeting also approved position papers for eight other proposals. Those papers allow new posts and, in three cases, the purchase of vehicles. They do not give separate project costs.
Roads and the planting plan
The largest scheme is construction of the Rawalpindi Ring Road, section R3, from Banth to Thalian, at Rs51,326 million. That is the biggest share of the money cleared for costed schemes.
The second scheme is dualization of Muzaffargarh Road from Jauharabad to Chowk Grote in Khushab district, at Rs3,724 million. Dualization means rebuilding a road as two carriageways, so traffic in each direction runs separately.
The third is a revised Chief Minister's Plant for Pakistan initiative, at Rs8,000 million. Rs51,326 million, Rs3,724 million and Rs8,000 million add up to Rs63,050 million.
Posts, vehicles and newer proposals
The Punjab PDWP also cleared position papers for schemes that are still at the staffing stage. In this meeting, a position paper is the note used to seek approval for new posts and, where it is mentioned, for vehicles.
Three papers cover both posts and vehicles: hatchery facilities for pangasius and other high-value fish; the Chief Minister's Youth Engagement Programme; and Safe City arrangements for kacha, or riverine, areas.
Five papers cover posts only. They are an artificial intelligence hub at PIFTAC; the Punjab Legal Aid and Assistance Portal (PLAAP); CMAP, an artificial-intelligence platform for measuring and accounting for industrial carbon emissions across Punjab; greening of industries in Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan and Sialkot; and SPARK, Sustainability-related Planning and Action Research for Knowledge.
Who was present
Secretary of the P&D Board Rafaqat Ali, chief economist Dr Farrukh Naveed, members of the board and officers from the departments concerned joined Dr Naeem Rauf at the meeting.
The list of decisions names the schemes and the papers that were approved. It does not state when work will start, when a road will open, or how many posts will be created. The decision records approval of costs and staffing papers, and it leaves the timetable for a later announcement.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Punjab PDWP ne 12 October ko Lahore mein Rs63,050 million, yaani Rs63.05 arab, ke schemes manzoor kiye. Sab se bari raqam Rawalpindi Ring Road ke R3 hisse ki hai, Banth se Thalian tak, jo Rs51,326 million ka hai. Khushab mein Jauharabad se Chowk Grote tak ki sadak ko do carriageway banane ka mansuba, aur Plant for Pakistan ka revise shuda plan, bhi manzoor hua. Yeh abhi manzoori hai; kaam kab shuru hoga, is meeting ne nahi bataya.
