PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Wednesday directed the departments concerned to ensure the timely completion of ongoing projects to ensure better services to the public. “Timely completion of development projects is essential for accelerating economic growth, improving public service delivery, and strengthening governance outcomes across the province,” the chief minister told a meeting here.
The meeting was held to review and assess the utilisation of development funds and progress on key development initiatives across the province. The meeting undertook a comprehensive review of expenditures and implementation progress under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Annual Development Programme (ADP), the Merged Districts Annual Development Programme, the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP), and various foreign-assisted development projects. The meeting was informed that the merged districts’ ADP currently leads in terms of fund utilisation, with 94 percent of released funds expended to date. Similarly, utilisation under the Accelerated Implementation Programme has reached 92 percent, while 88 percent of released funds under the provincial ADP have been utilised. The participants were informed that implementation progress across sectors remains satisfactory and that the target of 100 percent utilisation of released development funds is expected to be achieved in the coming days. Expressing satisfaction over the progress achieved thus far, the chief minister directed all concerned departments to ensure the timely completion of ongoing projects so that citizens can benefit from development investments at the earliest opportunity.
Sohail Afridi said that health and education remained among the provincial government’s highest development priorities, adding that the upcoming Annual Development Programme would continue to place particular emphasis on these sectors, alongside other critical social services. He underscored that the provision of quality healthcare services was a fundamental responsibility of the government and emphasised that no compromise would be made on improving access to essential health services for citizens.
The chief minister noted that the growing patient burden on major hospitals in Peshawar necessitated enhanced attention, strategic planning, and targeted investments in the health sector. He stated that the provincial government is pursuing a comprehensive approach to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and service delivery to meet increasing public demand. Reaffirming the government’s development agenda, Sohail Afridi stated that projects of significant public importance, particularly those nearing completion, would be prioritised to ensure that development gains are realized and delivered to communities without delay. He r emphasised the provincial government’s commitment to ensuring the transparent, efficient, and timely utilization of development resources, adding that all available efforts would be directed towards extending the benefits of development investments to every region and segment of society across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
