Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved seven major flagship projects, including life insurance for entire population of province.

Meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur attended by Finance Advisor Muzammil Aslam and administrative secretaries of relevant departments, gave nod to projects.  Flagship projects include life insurance coverage for entire provincial population, establishment of provincial government’s own Islamic Takaful insurance company and launch of solarisation programme and home-stay tourism scheme.

Other approved projects include construction of Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway, 120-kilometre-long transmission line, establishment of trade corridor hub and creation of debt management fund. It was decided that these flagship projects would be completed by end of 2027. Following health card scheme, life insurance scheme will be Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government’s second major social security initiative. Under scheme, in event of death of family head, heirs will receive compensation ranging from Rs 500,000 to Rs 1,000,000. To sustainably run health card and life insurance schemes, provincial government will establish its own Islamic Takaful insurance company. As part of its strategy to boost international trade, government will construct Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway. 365-kilometre-long Motorway will pass through 12 districts of province and will connect Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab and Balochistan. Meeting also approved construction of 120-kilometre-long 220 kV transmission line from Swat to Chakdara. To facilitate better trade management with Afghanistan and Central Asian states, establishment of trade corridor hub in Torkham was also approved. Additionally, trade facilitation centre will be set up in Peshawar and freight railway service from Peshawar to Torkham will be introduced. Solarisation scheme is another flagship project of government. Under scheme, low-income households will be provided with solar units and all government buildings will be transitioned to solar energy.

In first phase, 65,000 deserving households will receive free solar units, while in second phase, 65,000 additional units will be provided to public on easy instalments. CM Gandapur stated that purpose of these flagship projects is to ensure social security of province’s residents, boost commercial and tourism activities and create employment opportunities.