Govt clears Rs80b project for CPEC's western route.

The government on Thursday cleared a Rs80-billion project for western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) amid difficulties in arranging funds for new schemes due to paucity of resources.

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) recommended the doubling of track on the Kuchlak-Zhob section of N-50 highway for approval of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec), according to a statement issued by the planning ministry.

However, the project was cleared in haste as the Ministry of Planning had received PC-I of the scheme just 12 hours before its approval, denying it time to critically review the mega project. The Kuchlak-Zhob section was cleared amid uncertainty over the fate of another western route project, Dera Ismail Khan-Zhob section of N-50, due to lack of funding.

The CDWP approved Rs67.6 billion for the construction of road and another Rs11.4 billion for the procurement of land. The project involves doubling tracks and upgrading the existing two lanes, which have 305km length on the Kuchlak-Zhob section of N-50, to four lanes.

The proposed road is part of the western alignment of CPEC that will connect Kuchlak, Muslim Bagh and Qilla Saifullah cities.

The previous government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had preferred the eastern route of CPEC over western alignment. "The PTI government gives priority to construction of the western route and improving socio-economic conditions in neglected areas," remarked Federal Minister for Planning Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar. The minister said completion of the project would contribute to a smooth and efficient movement of goods and traffic in a relatively shorter time. The government wants to perform ground-breaking ceremony of the project by the end of March.

The CDWP constituted a committee comprising...