CDWP Approves 10 Projects Worth Rs 40.9 Billion on 26 October 2026: Daanish Schools, Shahdara Flyover and Full List
The CDWP approved 10 projects worth Rs 40.9 billion on 26 October 2026 and sent 3 worth Rs 172.25 billion to ECNEC. See every project, cost and location.
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved 10 projects worth Rs 40.9 billion on 26 October 2026 and sent three larger ones worth Rs 172.25 billion to ECNEC for final approval. The list includes a Daanish School at Kuri in Islamabad, an 8-lane flyover at Imamia Colony railway crossing in Shahdara, Lahore, a revamp of PTV and four Prime Minister's youth programmes.
The CDWP is the Planning Commission's forum that clears federal development projects. Bigger schemes then go to ECNEC, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, which gives the final yes. We read the Planning Ministry's release in full, added up every figure and set out each project below, with what it means for the people who live near it.
The CDWP approved 10 projects and sent 3 to ECNEC
The meeting, chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, looked at 13 projects. It approved 10, worth Rs 40.915 billion, and recommended three, worth Rs 172.25 billion, to ECNEC. The projects cover schools, youth, television, power, roads and water.
We added up the 10 approved projects and got Rs 40,915.3 million, which matches the release. The three ECNEC projects add up to Rs 172,247.4 million, which rounds to the Rs 172.25 billion given. A fourth item, a solar scheme for the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was also referred to ECNEC but sits outside both totals.
Every approved project and its cost
The biggest approved items are the Shahdara flyover at Rs 7.49 billion and the Daanish School at Kuri, Islamabad, at Rs 7.36 billion. Most of the education and youth projects were approved "in principle", which means more review comes before money moves.
| Project | Cost (Rs million) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 8-lane overhead bridge, Imamia Colony railway crossing, Shahdara (N-5), Lahore | 7,492.05 | Approved |
| Daanish School, Kuri, Islamabad | 7,357.23 | Approved in principle |
| Daanish School, Kan Mehterzai, Qila Saifullah, Balochistan | 4,527.84 | Approved in principle, review committee named |
| Pilot battery energy storage, 220 kV Jhimpir-I grid station | 4,394.72 | Approved in principle |
| Prime Minister's Youth Development Centres | 4,144.85 | Approved in principle, third-party checks |
| Prime Minister's Talent Hunt Youth Sports League, Phase I | 3,988.06 | Approved |
| Revamping of PTV | 3,962.25 | Approved in principle |
| PM Youth Programme sports academies and Youth Olympics | 2,955.93 | Approved |
| Prime Minister's National Innovation Award | 1,970.00 | Approved |
| Daanish Schools in AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, KP and Sindh | 122.40 | Approved in principle, cost to be cut |
The Rs 122.4 million line for Daanish Schools in five regions looks small because the release gives no school count or locations for it. The Planning Ministry asked for the cost to be "rationalised", so the final figure may change.
Three projects worth Rs 172.25 billion now wait for ECNEC
Two water projects and one road went to ECNEC. They are an irrigation project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a hill torrent scheme in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur, and the widening of the Chakdara to Timergara road. All three rely mainly on foreign loans.
| Project | Cost (Rs million) | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated Hill Torrent Management (Chachar to Mithawan), DG Khan and Rajanpur | 85,342.11 | ADB Rs 73,060m, Punjab Rs 12,282.11m |
| KP Resilient Irrigated Agriculture Livelihoods Development Project | 69,893.00 | ADB Rs 56,132.5m, KP Rs 11,691.9m |
| Widening of N-45, Chakdara to Timergara, 39 km | 17,012.32 | Foreign funding through Exim Bank |
The KP project would repair the Pehur Main Canal, build the Mulkhow irrigation distribution system and extend the Pehur High Level Canal. Land for it has its own separate plan. The ADB and KP shares add up to Rs 67,824.4 million, Rs 2,068.6 million short of the total, and the release does not say what covers the rest.
The hill torrent scheme would bring spate irrigation, flood channels, telemetry and a central control system to the Chachar and Mithawan torrents. The Asian Development Bank pays about 86 per cent of it. The N-45 road links Chakdara with Timergara, and on to Dir and Chitral. ECNEC approved 11 other projects earlier this month, set out in our report on ECNEC's 10 October meeting.
A Rs 13.3 billion solar scheme for the merged districts goes to ECNEC too
The Prime Minister's Solar Scheme for Newly Merged Districts, costing Rs 13,323 million, was approved in principle and referred to ECNEC. It would give off-grid solar systems to households in the former tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
No application window exists yet. The release gives no number of homes, no system size and no rules on who qualifies. Anyone asking you for a fee to "register" for this scheme now is not acting for the government.
What the approvals mean for families and students
Nothing opens for applications on the strength of this meeting. The CDWP decides whether a project goes ahead and at what cost. Admissions, jobs and registration come later, through the department that runs each scheme.
- Parents in Islamabad and Qila Saifullah should wait for a Daanish School admission notice; past rounds are explained in Daanish School admission.
- Young people should watch for the youth centres, sports league and innovation award rules, which the release does not give.
- Commuters in Shahdara should expect the Imamia Colony crossing to become a building site once work starts, though no start date is given.
- Households in the merged districts should ignore anyone selling solar "registration" until ECNEC approves the scheme.
- Check any claimed scheme on the Planning Ministry's or the Press Information Department's own website before you share it.
Common questions
How many projects did the CDWP approve on 26 October 2026?
It approved 10 projects worth Rs 40.915 billion and recommended 3 more, worth Rs 172.25 billion, to ECNEC.
What is the difference between CDWP and ECNEC?
The CDWP is the Planning Commission forum that clears projects. Larger projects need final approval from ECNEC, a committee of the National Economic Council.
Where will the new Daanish School in Islamabad be?
At Kuri, Islamabad. The CDWP approved it in principle at Rs 7,357.23 million. No admission date has been announced.
Is the solar scheme for merged districts open for registration?
No. It was approved in principle and referred to ECNEC. No rules or registration process have been published.
What is the Shahdara flyover project?
An 8-lane overhead bridge at the Imamia Colony railway crossing on N-5 in Shahdara, Lahore, with link roads, costing Rs 7,492.05 million.
When will ECNEC decide on the three projects?
The release does not give a date. ECNEC decisions are announced in an official release after each meeting.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 27 October 2026 at about 02:00 PKT. Every project, cost and funding share comes from the Planning Ministry's release of 26 October 2026 on the Press Information Department website, which we read in full. State radio's report of the same meeting gives the same totals. The sums, the Rs 2,068.6 million gap in the KP project and the 86 per cent ADB share are our own arithmetic. We could not find the PC-I documents, so the number of Daanish Schools in the five regions, the solar scheme's rules and any start dates are not known.
About the author
Global Affairs & Political Economy Writer
Muhammad Hatim is a book lover who started writing because he enjoys it. At Pakistan Era he writes about international relations, geopolitics and the global economy, with a particular interest in South Asia and the forces behind current events.
