Only 10.4pc of development budget spending in four months

November 12, 2026

Pakistan’s development spending has remained far below the annual target, raising concerns about delays in public-sector projects, poor service delivery and the impact on economic growth. Federal ministries and departments spent only Rs103.87 billion during the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year, against the total Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation of Rs1 trillion. This represents just 10.4 per cent of the annual development budget. The slow spending is particularly concerning because the Planning Commission had already authorised Rs412.3 billion for different projects during this period. However, only a fraction of the approved amount was actually utilised, pointing to serious implementation challenges.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Development, around 33 federal ministries and divisions spent Rs74.65 billion against their combined allocation of Rs682 billion. Government corporations, mainly working in the power and highways sectors, utilised another Rs29 billion, or 9.3 per cent of their annual allocation.

The National Highway Authority (NHA) performed particularly poorly, spending only Rs13.3 billion, or 5.8 per cent of its Rs225 billion allocation. The power sector utilised Rs16 billion, accounting for 18 per cent of its development budget.

Among federal departments, the Water Resources Division spent Rs18.7 billion, while the Education Division utilised Rs6.88 billion. The Health Division performed relatively better, spending Rs6.6 billion, or 41 per cent of its allocation.

Meanwhile, provincial governments, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan collectively spent Rs23.8 billion against an annual allocation of Rs233 billion.

Spending on climate change and food security was also disappointing. The Climate Change Division utilised only Rs259 million, while the National Food Security Division spent a mere Rs65 million.

The situation raises serious questions about the government’s ability to execute development projects on time. Slow spending can delay infrastructure, education, healthcare and climate-related initiatives, directly affecting ordinary citizens.

More importantly, low development expenditure may undermine economic growth, job creation and public welfare. The government must identify administrative bottlenecks, improve project implementation and ensure timely utilisation of allocated funds. Simply approving development budgets is not enough; delivering results on the ground should be the real measure of performance.