ISLAMABAD: On the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a decision has been made to build a sports academy named after Olympic athlete Arshad Nadeem.
According to documents received by a private TV channel, a proposal has been made to allocate funds for the academy in the upcoming budget.
The documents state that the academy will be built inside the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.
The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 2.85 billion. Out of this, Rs 300 million will be kept for the High-Performance Sports Academy.
In addition, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has presented the Pakistan Economic Survey for the current financial year.
While speaking in Islamabad, the finance minister said that Pakistan is moving towards economic stability. He said that the GDP growth rate for this year was 2.7%.
He added that inflation in the country is currently at 4.6%. Last year, the policy rate was 22%, which has now come down to 11%. Economist Arif Habib said the growth target could not be achieved because of low performance in the agriculture sector.
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The finance minister said that the IMF program has helped restore confidence in the economy. He said the program was aimed at achieving macroeconomic stability, and Pakistan has shown recovery in GDP growth compared to global trends.
He noted that global inflation was 6.8% two years ago, which has now dropped to 0.3%. In Pakistan, inflation stands at 4.6%. He also said the country’s foreign exchange reserves have increased during this financial year.
Aurangzeb added that now the government is focusing on stabilising the GDP further. He appreciated the caretaker finance minister for keeping the IMF program on track.
He said reforms were necessary to improve the economy. The tax-to-GDP ratio is now at the highest level in five years. The government has made efforts to improve FBR’s performance. He said that reforms usually take two to three years to show full results.
The finance minister also said there has been a historic recovery in the power sector in one year. The governance of power distribution companies has improved, and Pakistani freelancers have earned 400 million dollars.
