Balochistan Development Gateway

[white_pawn]

Balochistan budget likely on June 20 ​

ISLAMABAD (June 16 2009): The Balochistan budget, having an outlay of Rs 75 billion, for the next fiscal year is likely to be presented on June 20. Finance Minister, Mir Asim Kurd told that the money set aside for development purpose is likely to be more than Rs 16 billion, while non-development expenses have been estimated at Rs 50 billion.

40percent of the budget will be spent on new projects and schemes, he said. Government's staff will get a 15 percent increase in their salaries, he said adding that this was the reason for a deficit in the budget.

 

[white_pawn]

Higher funds for uplift of Balochistan demanded
By Saleem Shahid
QUETTA: Balochistan Economic Forum President Sardar Shaukat Popalzai urged the Federal government on Wednesday to give due attention to the underdeveloped economy of Balochistan in the forthcoming budget.

Talking to Dawn, he said different economic sectors be accommodated in the budget so that the province could shun its reliance on the federal divisible pool.

Many economic sectors, he said, were progressing slowly and were under severe pressure owing to lack of funding.

Due to slow growth of these sectors, investors were reluctant to come forward in supporting socio-economic development of the province, he said.

The federal government, he said, should encourage foreign direct investment in the province, and it should also be ensured that the message is reflected in bureaucratic policies and procedures.

He expressed the fears that the government may impose customs duty and sales tax on the ship-breaking industry in the new budget.

The present boom at the Gadani ship-breaking yard, he said, began early this year after customs duty and sales tax was waived in the previous budget which helped revive ship-breaking industry after a lull of over 10 years.

‘It generated economic activity in a big way and created employment opportunities from seashores of Balochistan to the North where most of the foundries and re-rolling mills are located, and it would be unfortunate if the federal government imposes customs duty and sales tax.’

He further mentioned that the fisheries sector was under continuous threat in the coastal area of Balochistan.

‘The main reason being the current ban on seafood export to Europe by the European Union for various technical reasons, which has badly affected the income generation of coastal population of the province,’ he said.

He further observed that mining and agriculture sectors, particularly fruit farming, have not been provided any special incentive, considering the fact that presently 67 per cent of Balochistan’s economy is dependent upon agriculture.

After the recent launch of operational activities at the Gwadar port, the forum expects that the government would announce without any further delay special incentives in declaring Gwadar a free zone.

The Balochistan Economic Forum also observed that the northern population of Balochistan was involved in large numbers in Afghan Transit Trade and also supporting the development of infra-structure in the province and Afghanistan.

The government should take notice of their migration of businesses from Balochistan area to the other region.

He demanded special incentives for the bordering cities of Balochistan, along with Afghanistan so that it could match the international incentives being offered for the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ) being developed by the US and also supported by Europe.

 

[white_pawn]

Five agro-industrial parks for Balochistan By Saleem Shahid ​

Saturday, 18 Jul, 2009 | 05:05 AM PST |

QUETTA: Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto has said that the federal government would invest over 60 per cent of the total allocations made in the Balochistan budget for the promotion of trade and industry.

Speaking at a press conference after a brief visit to Quetta on Friday he said that the decision had been taken to develop industries and promote trade in the province

Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, federal ministers Ayatullah Durrani, Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd and Balochistan Industry Minister Syed Ehsan Shah were also present on the occasion.

Mr Watto announced that marble cities would be established in the province to encourage investment in the industrial sector and to explore the mineral resources that remained untapped so far. He said that exploration of mineral resources in the province would benefit the country in general and Balochistan in particular.

He disclosed that the federal cabinet had approved and notified Gwadar as a tax free zone offering some incentives as compared to other such zones in the country. He said that with the establishment of a tax free zone in the new port city of Gwadar local and foreign investors would come forward to invest in the industrial sector.

Mian Watto further said that he had brought an offer of Rs3 billion projects which would be spent in the province on the recommendation of the provincial government.

‘The ministry has planned to establish five agro-industrial parks in Balochistan where agriculture produce, especially fruits and vegetables would be processed,’ he announced.

These parks would provide job opportunities to hundreds of youths of the province and locations for these parks would be decided by the provincial government.

The minister added that the present government had allocated Rs60 billion under various heads and a big chunk of this amount will be spent in Balochistan through small and medium enterprises development programme.

Mr Watto further said that the federal government would provide machinery, funds and other resources for extraction of marble and other minerals from the mountains of Balochistan.

The federal ministry of industries and production would also establish a number of Utility Stores in the province where thousands of youths would be given employment. Moreover, there are hundreds of other opportunities for the youths of this province in SMEs and gem and jewellery sectors.

DAWN.COM | Business | Five agro-industrial parks for Balochistan

 

[Omar1984]

PM approves Rs. 34 million for provision of electricity to villages of Balochistan ​

ISLAMABAD, Jul 26 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has approved fund of Rs. 34.283 million for provision of electricity to villages of District Kachi, Tehsil Bhag of Balochistan. This was disclosed by the Federal Minister for Livestock and Dairy Development Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd, while talking to the delegation of Tehsil Bhag which met him here today.

The delegation thanked the Prime Minister and Federal Minister Humayun Aziz Kurd for his efforts.

The Minister said Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani is very keen about the development work in Balochistan and on his directives various development projects have been launched in Balochistan under PSDP‑2009‑10 for the welfare of people of Balochistan.

The electricity project of District Kachi, Tehsil Bhag was also part of PSDP 2009‑10, he added.

Humayun Aziz said the government has started various development projects in Balochistan under PSDP‑2009‑10 and PWP‑II and five year plan, especially for the supply of electricity facility in the villages of Balochistan for which huge funds have been allocated.

The Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Water and Power that the fund should be handed over to executing agency, Quetta Electricity Supply Corporation (QESCO) before August 5, subject to completion of all required formalities.

 

[white_pawn]

Students from Balochistan to be given special stipends: President ​

ISLAMABAD, Aug 12 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said the government, in order to integrate the people of Balochistan with other provinces, will give special stipends to the students of the province for admission in recognized academic institutions located in other provinces. He said that this move will encourage the Baloch students to seek admissions in academic institutions in other provinces and thereby promote national integration.
The President said this during a meeting with a delegation of PPP MNAs and Senators from Balochistan who called on him here at the Presidency.
The meeting was attended by Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Ms Faryal Talpur, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Minister for Water and Power and Senator Rehman Malik, Minister for Interior.

The delegation included Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd, Minister for Livestock and Dairy Development, Dr Ayatullah Durrani, Minister of State for Industries and Production, Sardar Al-Haaj Umar Goagaje, MNA, Dr Zile Huma, MNA and Senator Sabir Ali Baloch.

Briefing the journalists about the meeting Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the President reiterated government’s commitment to resolve all issues relating to Balochistan and to address the grievances and sense of deprivation of the people of Balochistan in the light of recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan

The President said that the recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan will be given due consideration by the government to bring the province at par with other parts of the country and to improve the political, economic, administrative and law and order situation in the province.

The President said that various steps for the speedy socio-economic development of Balochistan were under way and expressed confidence that these new initiatives would greatly help in addressing the concerns of the people of Balochistan.

Farhatullah Babar said that Baloch members of Parliament also raised issues concerning the Ministries of Interior and Water and Power. The President directed Senator Rehman Malik and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who were present in meeting to address these concerns and report to him.

 

[Omar1984]

Balochistan uplift roadmap unveiled ​

* WD-ADB report urges improvement in law and order in province

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) unveiled on Monday a roadmap for Balochistan’s economic development, and described economic opportunities in Balochistan as “instruments for higher economic growth in Pakistan”. The report – launched in Islamabad – observed that while development in Balochistan had lagged behind, it was now “high time to invest in the province so that Balochistan draws on its natural resources and strategic location to promote economic development”.

The report suggests that Gwadar be transformed into a full-fledged port by pursuing a land port model, in a bid to promote national exports and imports. It also proposes that regulations and coordination be improved through the Gwadar Port Authority. The report calls for tightening security and promoting the provincial level oil and gas cell to facilitate gas exploration in Balochistan. For the development of coastal areas, the report suggests that investment be made in the value chain, fish stock assessments be held to encourage private investment and shrimp farming be launched as a public-private partnership. It also proposes the establishment of a fish-processing city in Gwadar, the development of new fishing ports and capacity-building to manage common pool resources. In a bid to promote mining, the report calls on authorities to disseminate a geological survey of Pakistan to attract private investment. It also proposes that fiscal and regulatory reforms be pursued in mining.

Law and order: As part of efforts to link enterprises, the report has suggested that the government improve the law and order situation, reduce the cost of doing business and consolidate the national highway network.

 

[Ghazy]

ISLAMABAD: A special meeting of the Federal Cabinet will be held on December 30 in Gwadar in which approval is expected for a number of uplift projects for Balochistan.

According to sources, the meeting will discuss Aghaz-e-Huqooq Balochistan Package besides the overall law and order situation.

Chief ministers of all the four provinces will participate in the meeting and then sign the NFC Award agreement.
http://www.geo.tv/12-26-2009/55584.htm

 

[ajpirzada]

Balochistan gets Rs10bn for dam construction
By Saleem Shahid
Thursday, 18 Feb, 2010


The chief minister expressed the hope that construction of the dams would pave the way for bringing under cultivation thousands of acres of barren land. – Photo by APP.
FRONT PAGE
PM summons chief ministers to discuss water, sugar issues
PM summons chief ministers to discuss water, sugar issues
QUETTA: The federal government has released Rs10 billion for the construction of delayed action dams in different areas of Balochistan, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani announced.

Presiding over a meeting on Wednesday, he said that at least 100 delayed action dams would be constructed across the province.

He said work had already begun on 20 dams and in the second phase 26 more dams would be built.

Parliamentary leaders of all coalition partners attended the meeting.

Mr Raisani said that in the third phase 25 dams would be built and sites for these dams would be finalised in consultation with the coalition partners.

The chief minister expressed the hope that construction of the dams would pave the way for bringing under cultivation thousands of acres of barren land.

DAWN.COM | Front Page | Balochistan gets Rs10bn for dam construction

 

[masijames]

I will take your time on the following topic, well I am not a expert in Geology and therefore would appreciate feedback.

Through my own research i have found the following note which has been put by Geological Survey of Pakistan on the oil reserves of pakistan (Balochistan).

Quote:
According to the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP), it was estimated during their offshore exploration that there are reserves of 19 trillion cubic feet of gas and 6 trillion barrels of oil in Balochistan. The GSP research confirms large reservoirs of unexplored onshore oil and gas in Balochistan, especially in Panjgur, Lasbella, Kharan, Kalat and Marri districts.

Existing gas fields in Balochistan supply 45% or 11 billion cubic meters of Pakistan’s total gas requirements

 

[Omar1984]

Balochistan conducive for foreign investment: Raisani ​

ISLAMABAD: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani on Friday promised provision of conducive environment to local and foreign investors for making investment in various sectors in the province.

Raisani made this offer while talking to two separate delegations of Turkish and Canadian investors that called on him. Provincial Minister for Revenue Engineer Zamrak Khan was also present there.

The Turkish delegation was led by Mustafa Serdar, Ataseven Group chairman, and comprised Duran Yce, Business Development; Cesmi Beogul, commercial attaché to Turkish Embassy and Dr Hasan Iftekhar, executive director of NFRD. The Turkish delegation is visiting Islamabad prior to Turkish President Abdullah Gul's forthcoming visit to Pakistan to further strengthen brotherly relations between the two countries.

On the occasion, the leader of the Turkish team informed the Balochistan CM that the Ataseven Group was one of the leading Turkish companies engaged in multiple ventures in various countries and in Pakistan it was working on a joint venture with National Foundation for Resource Development (NFRD) in biomass, forensic and construction sectors. Mustafa Serdar also offered Turkey's technical and expertise assistance to Balochistan through the federal government. Raisani expressed his gratitude for such an offer and said Balochistan was a resource-rich province where the plentiful mineral resources had not been fully exploited, which included copper, gold, silver, chromites and many other precious material. The CM asked the delegation to send proposals in order to see which sectors to work in.

Meanwhile, a Canadian-based Pakistani company led by its Chairman Lutfur Rahman also called on Raisani and apprised him of its activities, especially about oil and gas exploration and drilling. The company, registered with New York Stock Exchange, shown its interest for investment in oil and gas development in Balochistan. The chief minister said that Balochistan had earmarked hundreds of acres of land at Pasni in District Gwadar for setting up an 'Oil City' where refineries, petroleum products units and other allied installations would be allowed to be set up.

He said the province had vast potential for generating power through windmills and invited them to explore this sector as the country was already facing a serious energy crisis. Nawab Aslam Raisani also dispelled the impression that there was a law and order situation in the province not ideal for any investment. He maintained that the people of Balochistan were far more enlightened and hospitable than those sitting at the helm of affairs somewhere else. staff report

 

[Omar1984]

Gilani urges completion of Balochistan projects ​

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani asked the Balochistan government on Wednesday to speed up implementation of the Aghaz Huqooq-i-Balochistan package and complete development projects launched under the PM’s special initiative so that their benefits could start reaching the common man.

At a meeting attended by Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and members of the provincial cabinet, the prime minister urged early completion of the process of verification and selection of people for 10,000 jobs to increase Balochistan’s share in government services.

The meeting was informed that more than 6,000 applications had been received for 5,000 jobs and scrutiny was under way to ensure the selection on the basis of merit and in a transparent manner.


It was informed that additional funds were required to raise the salary of Balochistan police personnel to the level of other provinces.

The meeting was also informed that after the publication of a list of 998 missing people, the families of only 62 of them had confirmed that they were missing and the provincial government was trying to trace them with the help of interior ministry and security agencies.

The provincial government requested that the proposed reduction in the Public Sector Development Programme because of increased allocations made to the provinces under the new National Finance Commission award should not apply to projects announced for Balochistan.

The Shadikor, Sunsar and Swarzai projects for supplying water to Gwadar were also discussed at the meeting.

 

[Xeric]

ZUMBEEL | Telecom Progress In Balochistan

Telecom Progress In Balochistan

Tue Jul 27, 2010 | By Umara Rashid- News Team


Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) organized telecom Consumer Forum with a theme “Together for Consumer Rights” in Quetta. It was attended by various representatives from IT and Telecom Industry, telecom consumer groups, renowned social workers and academia.

The forum was planned to evaluate and discuss telecom scenario in Baluchistan, which will help in accomplishing desired targets in terms of service expansion in the area. Organizing such consumer forums is yet another serious effort by PTA to address the consumer issues. It was pointed out that the telecom sector of country has observed a magnificent growth lately; and the province of Baluchistan is likely to gain further from this growth for its people as well as for the development of telecom infrastructure in the province.

While addressing the forum, Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that fiber optic is being laid from Baluchistan to connect with Iran and Afghanistan while it has also been laid across Baluchistan to provide telecom access to the local population.
Some astonishing statistics are revealed by Chairman PTA about the telecommunications’ services proliferation in the province. Stats show that these services are not a far-fetched idea for the people of Baluchistan now, and consumers of the area are satisfied with the quality of telecom services provided to them.
The following data provides evidence of telecom growth in the province:

* 36.86 % – Teledensity as of May 2010 (was 29.3% in 2008)
* 2.8 million – mobile phone subscribers as of May 2010 ( 12,539 in 2002)
* 109,079 – Total WLL subscribers in Balochistan as of March-2010
* 98,511 – total number of Local Loop (LL) subscribers is (March-2010)
* PKR 5.87 billion - USF projects in Balochistan
* 62 Rabta Ghars in Balochistan to provide basic telecommunication services

PTA seemed extremely keen to take new initiatives and bring new projects that will ensure the availability of cost effective, accessible, and prompt services for the telecom consumers to far flung areas of Baluchistan. This will undoubtedly ensue in the economic betterment in the area.

 

[CLIPPER4LIFE]

Rs26.75m released for palm oil project By Our Reporter | From the Newspaper March 23, 2011 (3 weeks ago)


ISLAMABAD, March 22: With the release of Rs26.75 million by the federal government under the public sector development programme, the Vinder palm oil project in Lasbela district of Balochistan has now been revived.

Spread on 12000 acres and launched in 2005, the project suffered snags due to stoppage of funds. The salaries of the staff would now be paid as funds have been received, sources told Dawn.

The project is being run by the Oil Palm Development Board which has the responsibility in Sindh as well as in Balochistan.

An official of the board, when contacted, said that sunflower has been grown on one million acres while oil palm cultivation has started on 1400 acres in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochsitan by both public and private sector.

The board was setting up an oil extracting plant at Thatta which will cater to oil bearing plants in Sindh and Balochistan. It is expected that the plant will start functioning with the start of harvesting season, the official said.

It is first time that palm trees are being grown in the country. It is said that palm produces three main economic products such as palm oil, palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit mesocarp and is mainly used for food and industrial use.

Pakistan has a wide scope of growing palm around the coastline of 880km from Karachi to Badin and from Hub to Gwadar. Reports say about 500,000 acres are well-suited for cultivation of oil palm.

Speaker of Balochistan Assembly Mohammad Aslam Bhotani discussed the revival of Vinder Palm Oil project with the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Mir Israrullah Zehri here on Tuesday who assured that agriculture and livestock would be promoted on priority basis to capitalise on the natural potentials of the province. Agriculture and livestock is the only means of livelihood of the majority of the people in Balochistan, and the federal ministry would take measures to launch productive and sustainable agricultural programmes, he informed the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the livestock division of the ministry of food and agriculture is considering establishing a national conservation farm at the National Agricultural Research Centre in Islamabad for development of dairy sector.

Palm oil is the second largest import bill for Pakistan, mostly coming from Malaysia. If Pakistan uses its vast coastline to produce palm oil, than it can save billions of dollars on its import bill. This will also create growth in the under-developed provinces of Balochistan and provinces in Sindh like Thatta.


FM radio livestock will also be launched for livestock farmers.

 

[CLIPPER4LIFE]

Rs3bn plan for Balochistan fishermen By Amin Ahmed | From the Newspaper (10 hours ago) Today
​

ISLAMABAD, April 29: The Balochistan government is set to launch a Rs3 billion project in the coastal districts of Gwadar and Lasbela to improve the livelihood of poor fishermen. Officials told Dawn on Friday that the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) had agreed to meet 85 per cent cost of the project by providing a loan of $30 million which would be approved by its executive board in Rome on May 10.

The provincial government and beneficiaries of the project will contribute to the project in the form of funds and kind.

The project spreading over six years is aimed at reducing poverty in Gwadar and Lasbela districts and increasing incomes by enhancing access of poor rural men and women to productive assets, skills, services and technologies. The project is designed to assist the provincial government in achieving its objectives of economic growth and poverty alleviation.

The overall responsibility for implementation and coordination of the project will rest with the provincial planning and development department.

Under the 18th Amendment, the provinces has got enhanced role in funding, procurement and loan management.

The amendment has increased the Balochistan government`s share in the federal divisible pool, benefiting it to contribute to the project.

According to the officials, the project is a response to the federal government`s identification of coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan as a priority target area for the IFAD support. Since coastal areas of Sindh have been covered by financing of $36 million by the Asian Development Bank, the government has decided that the IFAD-support project will only be implemented in Balochistan.

The project will also complement the government`s own efforts through an Italian debt swap-funded fisheries infrastructure support project. While the original government concept note had suggested a primary focus on the construction of a major fishing port and related facilities, the iterative design process and consultations with stakeholders have led to the recognition that a livelihoods approach should be adopted for the project, the officials said.

Data show that rural communities living along the 1100km long coastal belt of Pakistan heavily rely on fisheries as a major source of livelihoods.

Pakistan has reasonably well-endowed fishing grounds, but most fishermen do not earn matching returns due to a combination of under-developed support infrastructure, a poor regulatory regime, antiquated harvesting and transport practices, under-developed markets and processing and weak capacity and resources of fishing communities.

 

[Karachiite]

Ecnec to approve Gwadar port project

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) is to approve Gwadar Deep Water Port Project with the revised cost of Rs 16.675 billion. ECNEC is expected to meet prior to the announcement of federal budget 2011-12 and National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.

Official documents suggest that the revised scheme provides for construction of three multipurpose berths having total designed length of 602 m, 4.35km, approach channel dredged to 12.5m - 14.5m along with allied facilities to cater for up to 50,000 DWT container vessels under phase-I at Gwadar Deep Sea Port. The project has been implemented through co-financing by the Pakistan and Chinese governments (major chunk of cost is borne by Chinese government comprising of grant, soft loan and buyer's credit).

The 1st revised PC-I envisaging construction of three multipurpose berths (602 m) with 4.35 km long navigation channel having a designed draft of 11.6 - 12.5m with allied facilities costing Rs 14.905 billion (FEC Rs 8,674.00 million) was approved by Ecnec on February 28, 2002. During execution, due to increased scope of work, cost increased.

The revised cost of Rs 16.380 billion (FEC: Rs 11,880 billion) was approved by Ecnec on February 25, 2005. The final cost of project under phase-I has again increased due to completion of additional dredging works at increased cost of Rs 2.338 billion against the provision of Rs 1.5 billion under the revised approved project.

The re-revised cost of the project is Rs 16.675 billion which is 1.8% more than the already revised approved cost. Owing to increased cost, the sponsoring agency (Ministry of Ports and Shipping) has prepared a re-revised PC-I for processing through CDWP/ECNEC.

The project stands completed at the above re-revised cost. The increase in cost of additional dredging works has necessitated preparation of 2nd revised PC-I for approval of ECNEC. Reasons for increase in cost are additional dredging of Rs 838 million, cost of consultancy Rs 12 million and establishment charges and miscellaneous expenses by Rs 144 million in the phase -1.

The documents further reveal that CDWP in its meeting on March 18, 2010 recommended the project for approval of ECNEC at the revised actual cost of Rs 16,675.00 million (FEC: Rs 13,005.60 million) including Rs 25.00 million for provision of navigation aids, subject to the condition that the sponsoring agency would submit amended copy of revised PC-I in light of observations raised in the working paper for the CDWP before submission of Summary to ECNEC for approval.

In compliance with the CDWP decision, the sponsoring agency has submitted an amended copy of revised PC-I to the Planning Commission. The amended PC-I also includes provision of Rs 25 million for navigational aids within the actual completed cost of the project.

Ecnec to approve Gwadar port project | Business Recorder