ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday directed the relevant departments to give priority to the less-developed areas of Sindh to bring prosperity in the rural areas.

The prime minister, while chairing a meeting to review implementation on the Rs444 billion Sindh Development Plan, directed the concerned departments to fast-track work on Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway and construction of sports complexes in Badin, Ghotki, Thar, Mirpurkhas, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, and Sanghar.

He also directed to ensure transparency, quality of work and adherence to timelines, while implementing the Sindh Development Plan.

He further stated that the aim of the Sindh Development plan is to uplift the socio-economic status of the residents of 14 priority districts of Sindh.

Unfortunately, no attention was accorded to these districts in the past. The meeting was informed that overall Sindh Development Plan comprises 48 public sector development programme (PSDP) projects, 50 non-PSDP projects and seven Public-Private Partnership projects.

26 new PSDP projects have been approved and financial resources allocated for fiscal year 2021-22. An amount of Rs16.304 billion has been authorised by the Planning Commission for eight federal government divisions and organisations.

The Sindh Development plan includes projects related to roads and motorways, housing, IT and telecom, water resources, health, higher education, vocational training, disaster management, Railways, energy, and establishment of sports facilities. The meeting was attended by federal ministers, Dr Fehmida Mirza, Asad Umar, Muhammad Hammad Azhar, and senior officers.