By Ijaz Kakakhel

The government has spent over Rs700 million on the construction of a model prison in Islamabad out of an allocation of Rs1,180.951 million made under the PSDP 2025-26, according to a document available with Wealth Pakistan.

Titled Construction of Model Prison in Sector H-16, Islamabad, the project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on July 20, 2016, at an estimated cost of Rs3,928.523 million. However, in view of the changing requirements, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) revised the PC-I on June 7, 2024, at a revised cost of Rs7,399.122 million.

The reported expenditure on the project stood at Rs3,558 million up to June 30, 2025, indicating substantial progress on development work.

The project was budgeted in the PSDP 2025-26, with an allocation of Rs1,180.951 million. According to the Social Action Plan (SAP), the government released the full allocated amount of Rs1,180.951 for the fiscal year 2025-26, out of which Rs791.4 million has been utilized so far.

The release of the entire annual allocation at an early stage is seen as a positive sign for the timely execution and completion of the project.

Year-wise figures show that the project has received varying levels of funding since its inception. An amount of Rs35 million was allocated in 2013-14, followed by Rs100 million in 2014-15 and Rs10 million in 2015-16. However, these allocations were not released at the beginning of the project.

The allocations rose sharply to Rs200 million in 2016-17 followed by Rs800 million in 2017-18, and Rs500 million in 2018-19.

Subsequent allocations included Rs400 million in 2019-20, Rs600 million in 2020-21, Rs800 million in 2021-22, Rs350 million in 2022-23, and Rs496.340 million in 2023-24. In 2024-25, the allocation increased significantly to Rs1,324.088 million, followed by Rs1,180.951 million in the current fiscal year.

Cumulative allocations for the project have reached Rs6,796.379 million, while total releases stand at Rs4,525.039 million, underscoring sustained fiscal support over the years.

The project is expected to modernize jail facilities in Islamabad through improved accommodation capacity, better security arrangements, and enhanced rehabilitation standards. Timely funding and continued execution can help place the project on a faster completion track, helping improve public service delivery and institutional efficiency in the capital.

Credit: INP-WealthPk