Tag Archives: Peshawar

ECNEC approves Gwadar drinking water, Mohmand Dam Hydropower projects

on 08/06/2018

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Thursday approved three major projects, including supply of drinking water to Gwadar, a hydropower project at Mohmand Agency and Metro Bus service for the new Islamabad International Airport.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi here, accorded approval to these projects. The ECNEC gave approval for the Rs 309.558 billion multi-purpose Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project.

Besides producing 800 mv electricity, it would also have a storage capacity of 1,594 million cubic meters of water that could be used for irrigation, flood mitigation and supply of drinking water to Peshawar and FATA.

ECNEC gave approval for the construction cost of infrastructure and allied works for Metro Bus Services from Peshawar Morr interchange to  New Islamabad International Airport. Central Development Working Party had recommended the review of the project by the ECNEC.The 25.6 km long project, which was still in different stages of completion, would cost Rs.16,427.880 million and provide affordable and convenient transport for passengers using the New Islamabad International Airport, rescheduled for opening in first week of May.

To meet the long standing demand of the people of Gwadar, the port city would get a five million of gallons per day Reverse Osmosis Sea Water Plant at a total cost of Rs. 5,071.43 million. Under this project sea water would be desalinated for catering to the drinking and other requirements of Gwadar City and adjoining areas. The Federal Government has also agreed to increase its financing share from 50% to 67% while the remaining 33% would be financed by the Government of Balochistan.

 

BRT’s Environmental, Healthcare compliance ‘Unsatisfactory’

on 29/05/2018

Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Environmental Monitoring Report has declared unsatisfactory the project`s environmental, healthcare and safety compliance during the first two months ending on Dec 31, 2017.

These endings are contained in a 41-page Environmental Monitoring Report and a 70-page annexure looking into potential and actual environmental, health and safety hazards and their risks and mitigation measures has been prepared by the MM Pakistan for the executing agency, Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), and donor ADB.

The report noted that the contractor had been strongly advised to remove all deficiencies and gaps in the implementation arrangements for the environmental, health and safety requirements.

It said the Project Management Construction Supervision Consultants` (PMCSC) environment, health and safety management teams were constantly pushing contractors for the resolution of prevailing environmental issues such as high levels of dust along the project corridor, presence of debris/excavated material along the project corridor, traffic congestion due to construction activities and other relevant issues related to the campsites.The report said keeping in view the fact that the project was being executed in a highly-urbanized environment, it was expected that the environmental issues related with dust emissions and excavated material would continue to arise.`However, all efforts shall be made for the minimization of these impacts in light of the project`s Environmental Management Plan (EMP),’ it said.

The report identified high level of dust, traffic congestion and need of taking health, safety and environment (HSE) related measures along the BRT corridor and noted the corrective measures had been taken to address them.`The construction of the project is in progress on a fast track basis and the general HSE conditions at the project have so far been unsatisfactory,` it said.The report said both the contractor and the PSCMC had deployed 111 HSE staff members for the project.

It included a detailed independent environmental monitoring through a third-party laboratory to check air quality, noise, drinking water and in house environmental monitoring through handheld devices at specific locations along the corridor.The report said since most of the material generated from the Reach-H corridor was earthen material, which was being generated due to the excessive piling activities.It said the material had a high demand and that it was sold to third party contractors.The report said the disposal of excavated material at unauthorized and random locations had been observed along the project corridor and the Reach-H corridor remained most affected due to the practice.

The report said the records provided by the PDA showed that it was only the civic agency, which had felled trees for the project, and that the contractor didn`t chop down any tree. Around 26,500 small and large trees have been cut down or uprooted and that majority of them have been replanted at different locations of the city, it said.The report said major sources of dust production along the BRT Corridor included the movement of traffic at unpaved sections of the corridor, haulage of earth material, presence of dry excavated material at the roadsides, and construction machinery`s movement at the drainage work construction areas along the corridor.

The environmental inspection checklists contained in the annexure for Reach-I said the stored material or spoil heaps could contribute to dust production.The checklists also pointed out that there were no proper drainage and sewerage system for storm water; waste bins were not available at sites in adequate number. They also pointed out spillage of oil and other hazardous chemicals on the soft ground.The checklists also mentioned similar omission for construction sites in all three reaches, batching plants, residential camps and workshops.

When contacted, PDA director general Israrul Haq said considerable HSE improvements had been made. He said the standards mentioned in the report were of international level and in many instances, workers in Peshawar didn`t follow such standards but even then, they were trying to implement them.

CDWP approves Karachi, Peshawar mass transit programs

on 23/05/2017

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has cleared for the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) two major mass transit programs one for Karachi and the other for Peshawar. The moot approved a total of16 development projects costing Rs130 billion. The two projects (in Karachi and Peshawar) which are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are expected to be formally approved on the sidelines of upcoming One Belt, One Road conference in China this month. Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal presided over the CWDP meeting in Islamabad. The other projects are related to energy, transport and communication, water resources and manpower. Also, the moot approved concept clearance papers of two projects such as Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M6) worth Rs238bn and Sindh Renewable Energy Development Project (SREDP) $122 million. Four major projects of transport and communication sectors costing Rs.102 billion were recommended keeping in view the approval limits of the CDWP.The meeting which gave its nod on revival of Karachi Circular Railway (Rs27.6bn) asked the provincial government for rationalization of the cost. Also it would be ensured that the stations and other buildings to be constructed under the project matched the historical architecture of Karachi. Under the project, 43.2km double railway track would be constructed besides 24 stations. The meeting also approved Rs56.8bn for Peshawar Sustainable Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. The project, planned to be constructed with Rs48bn loan from the ADB, envisaged construction of 25.8km-long road track, 32 stations with commercial buildings and other allied facilities. The project, planned to be executed in 12 months, is expected to facilitate 472,000 people per day in its initial phase. The meeting also approved Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Project (KNIP) worth Rs10.5bn, a four-lane bridge across River Indus connecting Kallur Kot Bhakkar with Dhakki area of Dera Ismail Khan costing Rs7bn, a 30-megwatt Hydro Power Project in Ghowari in Gilgit Baltistan costing Rs7.9bn besides six water related projects worth Rs6.6bn which include three small dams.

World Bank to fund Peshawar-Kabul highway

on 02/05/2017

World Bank (WB) has agreed in principle to finance the mega project of building a highway between Peshawar and Kabul. This was disclosed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar after his meeting with Vice President of WB for South Asian Region Ms. Annette Dixon in Washington in April. Discussing the current economic situation in Pakistan, Dar said WB had been a great partner in the country’s development. Talking to the Pakistani delegation, Ms Dixon said WB would like to work more closely with Pakistan. She appreciated the initiatives taken by the Pakistani government for putting economy on the path of sustainable economic development. During the course of discussion, Dar proposed to WB to finance a major project of constructing a highway from Peshawar to Kabul for improving regional connectivity. The World Bank has agreed in principle to finance the project. Dar also proposed that WB might consider leading a consortium to finance Diamer Bhasha Project. Dar said the government took concrete measures to bring structural changes for the sustainable economic development in the country. The minister said the government had established a Micro Finance Company to extend such facilities to the poorer segments of the society. He informed WB team that Pakistan was one of the leading countries for ensuring financial development in the country and for this purpose a strategy had been devised which was being implemented thoroughly. He said 10 more laws were being enacted which aimed at further facilitating the private sector. In response to a question about policy reforms in Pakistan, he remarked that the parliament had so far passed 24 laws to create conducive and enabling environment for growth and private sector investment. In yet another communication, WB Group President Jim Yong Kim has said that the multilateral lender does not plan to change its stance on financing alternative energy projects and mitigating the effects of climate change. Asked about the Trump administration’s scepticism about climate change at a news conference, Kim said WB would continue to work with governments and the private sector to boost financing for alternative energy, especially in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam. “The science of climate change didn’t change with any particular election, and I don’t see that it will,” Kim said. “We have to be an evidence-based organisation,” he added.

Early warning system offered for Peshawar

on 01/03/2017

The Al-Khidmat Foundation has offered to finance early warning system for Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is a disaster-prone city in the province. The offer came during a group discussion on `multiple hazards vulnerability and risk assessment of Peshawar district` the organization said it would install early warning system if the district government provided land for it. The Al-Khidmat Foundation and Riphah University jointly organised the event, which was attended by academicians and officials of the relevant departments. The system costs around Rs30 million and also requires one kanal of land. Though prone to multiple disasters, including flash floods, riverine and urban flooding, Peshawar doesn`t have an early warning system for them. Dr Attaur Rehman, who teaches at the Department of Geography, University of Peshawar, says the rapid and unplanned urbanisation will swallow the entire agricultural land of Peshawar district in the next 50 years. `There is a need for a specific legislation to immediately stop the conversion of agricultural land into residential and commercial areas in Peshawar district otherwise there will be no farmland left in the next 50 years,` he said. The data collected by the revenue department show that the rapid urbanisation and unplanned construction have swallowed more than 3,307 acres of agricultural land in Peshawar district over the last one and a half decade. According to it, the total agricultural land in the provincial capital was 109,883 acres in 2001-02 but that shrank to 106,576 acres in 2013-14. The agricultural land is also under pressure in the adjoining districts of Nowshera and Charsadda due to the unplanned urbanisation. The government has yet to legislate on how to regulate utilisation of land and stop conversion of farmlands into commercial activities. Dr Rehman said Peshawar was among the top districts exposed to the multiple manmade and natural disasters as it did not have any system to forecast nullah flooding. He said the national warning system did not cover streams and seasonal nullahs of Peshawar, which saw devastations caused by urban and riverine floods every year. Khan Zeb, an official of the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar, said the situation was deteriorating due to non-implementation of the building bylaws in the district. He called for the implementation of the relevant laws to prevent urban flooding in the capital. The official said the level of groundwater in the district was also going down. A joint declaration issued after the discussion said the environmental degradation and climate change had increased the likelihood and intensity of natural hazards in Peshawar and other parts of the country. It demanded one per cent budget allocation for climate change adaptation in the next financial year and the use of 50 per cent of it for mapping and assessment related research and development. The declaration suggested that aH projects related to the proposed China Pakistan Economic Corridor include prior environmental assessments and hazard mapping in line with the NDMA`s National DRR Policy 2013 with the effective DRR plans on all CPEC routes. It called for the establishment of independent district disaster management units fully equipped with trained people and autonomous in implementing the guidelines in all 105 districts of the country.