The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to approve a Technical Assistance (TA) loan of $25 million for infrastructure development project in near future, it is reliably learnt. Well-informed sources told Business Recorder here on Saturday that on the proposal of the bank, government has appointed Muhammad Humayun Farshori, Secretary Planning and Development Division and Javed Mahmood, Joint Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to negotiate the loan, source disclosed to this scribe.
The negotiating team was expected to leave for Manila on July 10, 2005. The team will negotiate the terms and conditions of the loan with the financing agency (ADB).
Through this assistance, the bank would help the government in designing, preparation and implementation of a programme for infrastructure development consistent with the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF). This project would focus on power, transport and water sector development, sources said.
The planning commission would be the executing agency of the project for which umbrella PC-II was approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP).
They further said that to steer the infrastructure development and co-ordinate with the concerned agencies to accelerate the implementation of the project, an Infrastructure Management Unit (IMU) headed by member infrastructure, planning commission would be established.
According to them infrastructure sector in Pakistan comprises power, telecommunication, roads, ports, railways, air transport, water supply, waste management, information technology, cyber parks, and industrial estates.
Currently, the existing infrastructure is inadequate to cater for the needs of economic development as well as the demand arising from population growth, they added. The public sector has remained the main provider of basic infrastructure. However, the large fiscal deficit has limited the government's capacity to meet growing infrastructure requirements, they added.
To augment limited public resources for infrastructure, private sector participation must be encouraged by creating the enabling environment for increased private sector involvement, sources said.
According to the sources, the proposed project would also help in capacity building and development of public-private partnership (PPP) frameworks and models for the financing, construction, operating and maintaining of infrastructure facilities.
The total cost of the project is $33.7 million out of which the bank would provide $25 million from its Special Funds Resources with a term of 32 year including eight-year grace period.
The bank will annually charge one-percent interest during the grace period and 1.5 percent thereafter. The estimated project completion date is September 30, 2009.
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