Manual for Development Projects - Planning Commission

Chapter 2
countries, unfortunately, there are no such organizations. In the prevailing procedure and practice,
the following sources are used for project identification.
Plan Priorities / Plan Documents
2.3 Identification is done by the project's relevance to the National and Annual Development Plans.
It is said that fixation of priorities is the first step to wisdom. The development plans are prepared
after thorough scrutiny and judicious selection of the most important and remunerative projects by
the Planning Commission/ Planning and Development Division of the Government of Pakistan
charged with the responsibility of giving the final shape to these plans. The order of priority
assigned to each project depends on the viability and desirability of the project's impact on national
economic growth, social development, generation of greater resources/revenues and overall
Government policy. All such potentially promising projects are identified and included in the
national development plan, subject to expected resource availability. These selected projects as find
place in the plan priorities are picked from the whole lot of projects pertaining to various sectors
which pour in from different provincial governments as well as the federal government. Such
projects have their relevance within the perspective plan's spanning long periods of 20 years, which
aim at the steady evolution of the economy towards a state of self-sufficiency free from foreign aid
and characteristic of a prosperous progressive nation. On these aspirations of a self-reliant free
nation, the projects are identified in plan documents.
2.4 The exercise of "taking and leaving" the project is repeated for formulating the Five Year Plan
which contains projects taken out of the long-term perspective plan documents. Final identification
is made for the Annual Development Plan which is the operational plan and lists only top priority
projects proposed to be implemented in advance of others in a particular year. The plan is
constituted out of the on-going projects of various sectors, which are in different stages of
completion, and other new priority projects. A project will thus be reckoned as successful if it is
well-planned, can be conveniently implemented and is bound to achieve the objectives envisaged.
Such projects are prepared for investment, recognition of economic effectiveness and identification
in the frame work of five-year and annual development plan document.
Sectoral Analysis and Current Situation
Page 2 of 4
2.5 As discussed above, national development plans are framed and finalised at all stages, after
strict scrutiny, deep study and critical evaluation of large number of projects received from the
sponsoring agencies. Within the financial limitations, and budget allocations for each sector's
development, the best pick of the projects is identified and earmarked for inclusion in the long and
short-term plans.
2.6 The plan priorities are generally governed by the guidelines that venture to show the most
promising investment and/or most pressing problems of a particular sector in a current situation, like
protection against super-floods or restoration of heavy rain/flood damages or security measures
against serious law and order situation etc.
2.7 To elaborate the above point, it may be stated that for investment in Water, Power and
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9/23/2010