By Ayesha Saba

The Finance Division has so far released Rs153.191 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the Provincial and Special Areas projects during the current fiscal year, according to official documents available with Wealth Pakistan.

For FY2025-26, a total allocation of Rs251.130 billion was initially made for 169 PSDP projects under the Finance Division’s development portfolio. This included Rs12.991 billion earmarked for 77 projects classified under “Other Development Expenditure”.

The allocation was later revised to Rs197.042 billion for 176 PSDP projects, reflecting periodic adjustments by the Planning Division. Out of this revised amount, Rs197.024 billion was authorised for release, including the foreign funding component. However, a small allocation of Rs0.017 billion for the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is still pending authorisation.

So far, Rs153.191 billion has been disbursed under the PSDP framework. Of this, Rs37.238 billion has been transferred to provincial governments, while Rs115.952 billion has been released for Special Areas.

Among provinces, Sindh received the largest share of Rs23.157 billion, followed by Balochistan with Rs12.920 billion. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received Rs0.604 billion, while Punjab received Rs0.556 billion.

For Special Areas, the merged districts of the former Fata received Rs50.313 billion, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Rs35.046 billion, and Gilgit-Baltistan Rs30.593 billion.

The Finance Division notes that fund releases are made after completing the required procedural formalities and are issued on a quarterly basis after authorisation. It further explains that PSDP allocation and project approvals fall under the planning authorities, while the Finance Division is responsible for the release of funds and transfers to provincial and regional governments.

Credit: INP-WealthPk