The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has approved 14 development projects for the 2026-27 fiscal year, covering road infrastructure, forestry, sports, land management and other public-sector initiatives across the province.
The approvals were granted during the seventh PDWP meeting, chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Planning and Development Islam Zeb. The projects are aimed at improving road connectivity, public facilities, land-record management and development services in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Road infrastructure accounts for a significant portion of the approved schemes. In Upper Chitral, the PDWP approved construction of the 45-kilometre Shughar-Shah Salim Road, while in Buner it sanctioned widening, improvement and blacktopping of the 20-kilometre Battai-Khalil Top Road.
Several road projects were also approved in Khyber district, including the 11-kilometre Shangar Markaz-Dars Masjid Road through Sandipal and the eight-kilometre Ahmadi-Donga Road in Bara tehsil. The meeting also approved work on a road link connecting the Makhniyal-Islamabad boundary with Changla Gali through Dukhan Palsar in Abbottabad, along with a feasibility study for the Umarzai Bypass Road in Charsadda.
Torghar district will receive a development package worth more than PKR 9 billion under Phase II. Other approved initiatives include the Billion Tree Afforestation Support Project, a sports stadium in Upper Chitral, sports competitions in merged districts, and the construction, upgrading and rehabilitation of sports grounds and existing facilities.
The PDWP also approved the establishment of an Urban Policy Unit and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Resource for Inclusive Development Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach. In the revenue and land-management sector, the forum approved centralisation of the Land Record Management Information System, aimed at strengthening the management and accessibility of land records across the province.
