The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a technical assistance (TA) grant of $450,000 to reduce current delay in the start up-phase of developmental projects, says a press release issued here on Thursday. The purpose of the technical assistance was to help the federal and provincial governments and ADB in streamlining procedures and operational modalities during the start-up i e period between loan approval and actual implementation of the development projects.
The ADB was one of Pakistan's biggest developmental partners and had an ongoing portfolio of 55 loans worth dollars 5.3 billion in the country.
According to the country strategy and program update (2005-06), the ADB had committed to provide close to dollars 2 billion development assistance for 23 projects.
The government had agreed there was a need to ensure timely and effective implementation of those projects for getting desired benefits.
The ADB was dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development and good governance; it approved loan and technical assistance worth dollars 6.1 billion and dollars 177 million during the previous year.
The government had placed emphasis on improving the implementation of developmental projects and utilisation of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The Planning Commission had recently undertaken a series of measures to improve utilisation of PSDP to strengthen the evaluation of development projects.
In that regard, the ADB was providing assistance to the Planning Commission to develop a more effective monitoring and evaluation system, sources added.
The ADB Country Director M Ali Shah said the focus of that technical assistance would be on addressing delay between the approval and implementation of development projects.
That would also include systematic improvements in the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and Foreign Aid Sections (FASs) of provincial planning and development departments to increase their effectiveness in addressing start-up delays in the projects.
The Economic Affairs Division would be the executing agency for the technical assistance and would be responsible for undertaking project activities at the federal level and co-ordinating with the concerned federal and provincial government departments and other stakeholders as required, they said.
EAD Secretary would head that with members from the Planning Commission, Ministry of Law and Justice and Provincial P&D Departments.
The technical assistance will start early 2005 and to be completed by August 2006.
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