BUDGET 2026-27: CPEC 2.0 only new project in Rs3.6tr development kitty

However, the Public Sector Develop­ment Programme (PSDP) contains a list of long-overdue mega-projects, which provinces had been insisting should be financed by the Centre. The second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC-II) is perhaps the only new initiative listed, for which Rs1 billion was allocated. The outlay comprises the PSDP at Rs1 trillion, the Provincial Annual Development Programmes (ADPs) at Rs2.224 trillion, and reported development spending by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) at Rs451 billion. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that more than 60pc of the Centre’s priorities were focused on key sections including transport, energy, IT, science, agriculture, health, and education. More than Rs365 billion has been allocated for transport infrastructure improvement, which includes key projects such as the N-25 highway connecting Karachi and Balochistan (Rs100bn), M-6 Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway (Rs30bn), as well as fresh financing from Asian Development Bank for the Main Line-1 project from Karachi to Rohri. In addition, Rs2bn has been allocated for the Thar Coal Connectivity Project, and Rs93bn for transport projects in all provinces. For the electricity sector, Rs116.2bn has been allocated, of which the flagship projects include the Dasu, Tarbela and Diamer-Bhasha dams. Around Rs50bn has been earmarked for nine solar and wind projects, Rs8bn for renewable projects and Rs13.1bn for national grid expansion. The finance minister said that 8m new jobs were being created in the federal priority budget, with Rs54.6bn for sustainable urban developm