ECC meeting set before budget

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee has been called to meet over the weekend ahead of the federal budget, with a series of financial and development proposals involving billions of rupees expected to come up for consideration.

The meeting is expected to take up requests for grants and supplementary allocations across a number of sectors, with decisions likely to influence fiscal and development priorities before the budget is unveiled. Among the key items on the agenda is a proposal for a grant of more than Rs7 billion under the Sustainable Development Goals programme.

Officials said the committee is also expected to consider Rs528 million for the Pakistan Land Ports Authority and an additional Rs150 million for the National Counter Terrorism Authority. Security-related matters are also part of the agenda, including more than Rs410 million proposed for payments linked to the Reko Diq project and Rs690 million sought for security arrangements related to the Islamabad peace talks.

Development and energy matters on agenda

The session is also due to examine the transfer of development funds under the Karachi and Hyderabad package, along with proposals concerning the redistribution of special programme funds for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A separate proposal worth Rs1.3 billion for the upgradation of Pakistan Mint is also set to be reviewed.

In the energy sector, the ECC is expected to consider a syndicated financing facility for Pakistan State Oil. Officials further said an agreement connected to an oil refinery upgrade project will also be placed before the committee.

Supplementary grants and additional allocations for various ministries are also likely to be approved as the government moves to settle major fiscal and development decisions ahead of the forthcoming budget.