LAHORE - The government has decided to hold on funds for the new schemes of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2008-09, with a view to facilitating Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and reducing burden on these projects besides bridging the gap of rising budgetary deficit, the sources concerned told The Nation here Wednesday. The sources said that the government plans to motivate the private sector to invest in the PSDP schemes at 60:40 ratio for enhancing PSDP size and reducing burden on these schemes. Quoting the Planning Commission communiquT, they said this move would facilitate the private sector to invest by creating an enabling environment, promoting knowledge-based economy through the development of appropriate human and physical infrastructure. It is said that the Planning Commission (PC) has also asked the government to divert funds to those on-going projects, which were at their advanced stages of implementation and accommodate all other ongoing portfolios during fiscal year 2009. The PC has underlined that the projects with less than 40 percent expenditure should be slowed down until their significance and relevance to the present realities are ascertained. The PC has also stressed upon the government to hold on funds of the projects, which had not been launched as yet and no staff had been recruited so far. The sources say that the un-approved projects, which were given token allocations, were also put on halt. Quoting the PC letter, the sources said that the Commission stressed upon developing new approach for financing major infrastructure development leading to profit generation by property development where the market-based approach would be made to allow the existing agencies to deliver better and self-financing services. In the other case, the private sector may bid to operate services, either on a contractual or ownership basis. The PC underlined the need for developing a joint public-private approach to improve land supply service, besides improving transport and communication links, ensuring reliability of energy and water supplies, delivering satisfactory waste management and drainage, improving the quality of labour markets, and information system on land, finance and other elements of the mega projects. The government has seized eight new projects relating to Water and Power sector worth Rs 10.400 billion. Besides this, a sum of Rs 5.955 billion has been earmarked for the Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Division to meet needs of 16 new projects worth Rs 10.458 billion meant for various ongoing and new projects under the PSDP 2008-09. Communications Division's 14 new schemes were allocated Rs 4.03 billion of NHA without any foreign aid component, 16 new projects of Education would cost Rs 1.023 billion, 14 new projects of Health Division worth Rs 711 million, Information Technology Rs 1.358 billion, 19 new projects of Population Welfare Division worth Rs 304.157 million, Housing and Works 2.806 billion, Food, Agriculture and Livestock worth Rs 1.513 billion.