The Punjab Planning and Policy Support Programme (PPSP) was a government-led capacity-building and institutional strengthening initiative designed to transform the quality of evidence-based urban and regional planning across Punjab province — Pakistan’s most populous and economically significant province. Dr. Ghulam Mohey-ud-din contributed as Urban Economist, playing a central role in the economic dimensions of the programme over its two-year implementation period, commissioned by the Government of Punjab under a PKR 200 million framework.
Programme Background
Punjab’s planning machinery had long been constrained by structural weaknesses: fragmented spatial data systems, limited analytical capacity within government departments, inadequate investment appraisal frameworks, and a disconnect between economic evidence and urban policy decisions. The Punjab Planning and Policy Support Programme was designed to address these deficiencies systematically, improving the institutional foundation for evidence-based planning that could support Punjab’s urban growth, infrastructure investment, and economic development agenda.
Economic Work Stream and Analytical Approach
Dr. Mohey-ud-din’s economic work stream involved three interconnected activities. First, urban economic diagnostic reports were prepared for Punjab’s major urban centres — including Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Rawalpindi — assessing economic performance, employment structure, sectoral composition, and growth constraints. Second, an Economic Appraisal Framework was developed for urban investments, providing planners with a structured method for evaluating infrastructure and development projects against economic return and equity criteria. Third, planning support toolkits integrating economic evidence layers were developed and deployed with provincial planning departments, enabling planners to incorporate economic rationale into spatial decision-making. The approach throughout was iterative and demand-driven, responding to actual planning challenges encountered by government departments during implementation.
Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer
A critical component of the Punjab Planning and Policy Support Programme was institutional capacity building — ensuring that the analytical tools and frameworks developed during the programme were embedded within government systems and could be sustained after the programme concluded. This involved capacity-building workshops for provincial planning officials, technical advisory sessions with senior departmental staff, and the creation of user-friendly policy briefs translating complex economic evidence into actionable planning guidance. The World Bank and UK Department for International Development (DFID) provided technical and financial support to the programme, reflecting the international development significance of strengthening provincial planning capacity in Pakistan.
Key Deliverables
- Urban Economic Diagnostic Reports for key Punjab cities — Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi
- Economic Appraisal Framework for Urban Investments — applied economic assessment methodology
- Planning Support Toolkits incorporating economic evidence layers for departmental use
- Policy briefs on urban economic governance and investment prioritisation
- Capacity-building workshops for provincial planning officials across Punjab
Outcomes and Legacy
The Punjab Planning and Policy Support Programme strengthened the analytical capacity of Punjab’s planning institutions for evidence-based decision-making at the provincial and city scale. The economic frameworks and toolkits developed under the programme were integrated into departmental workflows, improving the quality and consistency of investment appraisal and spatial planning decisions. This engagement reflects Dr. Mohey-ud-din’s expertise in provincial economic planning, urban policy reform, and government capacity development — core competencies that underpin his broader advisory work in Pakistan and across South Asia.