ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic and Development Council (Ecnec), under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, on Monday approved four major development projects with a cost of Rs 240 billion, including the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme with the second revision, costing Rs25 billion.
The Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme was initially approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on July 8, 2023 at a cost of Rs 4,938.00 million, with an implementation period of 12 months. The project underwent its first revision and was approved by Ecnec at a cost of Rs 15 billion on November 25, 2024.
Ecnec has now approved another revision at a cost of Rs 25.171 billion, with an enhanced scope. Under this programme, the government plans to provide skills training to 76,000 youth in IT technologies, 74,000 in industrial skills, and 64,000 in conventional skills. The allocation of targets in IT trades—including emerging technologies such as AI, data science, and Industry 4.0/5.0—is determined based on application trends and regional demand.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, chaired the Ecnec meeting, which approved four major development projects worth over Rs 240 billion. The approved projects include the expansion of AFIC-NIHD Rawalpindi, the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme, the Karachi Yellow Line BRT Corridor, and the 34.5 MW Harpo Hydropower Project in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Planning Sindh, SAPM Tariq Bajwa, the Secretary Planning, the Secretary Defence, the Secretary Water Resources, and other senior officials from the Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Finance, NAVTTC, and other relevant ministries.
