LAHORE - Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakhat on Saturday stressed a need for extending the scope of development across the province, besides introducing policy and administrative reforms in the projects keeping in view the clean energy and environmental changes.

He was chairing an important meeting to review the ongoing projects initiated jointly by various donors and development partners as well as upcoming proposed projects here at Punjab Planning and Development (P&D) Department.

Punjab Finance Minister was of the view that inclusion of all areas of Punjab in the economic development was indispensable to ensure provision of equal opportunities of progress to the people. “We also have to convince our development partners for making investment in under developed districts along with developed ones,” he added.

Hashim Jawan made it clear that PTI government was neither in favour of starting a few ornamental or showy projects in some districts nor interested in promotion of inter-districts injustice and biasness in the development process.

The meeting was briefed that a total of 17 projects were being completed with the collaboration of various donor agencies in Punjab, which included 10 projects with the association of World Bank (WB), six with Asian Development Bank (ADB) and one with International Fund for Agriculture Development.

P&D Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo briefed in detail the Finance Minister about the projects’ estimated cost, partnership, loans’ terms and condition, and projects’ executing departments and sub-departments. Finance Secretary Hamid Yaqoob, heads of relevant departments and project directors concerned also attended the meeting.