Green Development Project: World Bank to provide soft loan of $200m to Punjab

LAHORE: The World Bank will give a soft loan of $200 million to the Punjab government for the ‘Green Development Project.’

Under the Green Project, the Punjab government will install air and water quality monitoring systems in 10 districts, including Lahore, Sheikhupura, Multan, DG Khan, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Vehari and other cities. The air quality monitoring systems and water quality monitoring stations will be installed at 30 and 15 places, respectively.

While chairing a meeting, here on Monday, the CM disclosed that a $50 million ‘Environment Endowment Fund’ will be established under the proposed green financing strategy.

Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, while chairing a meeting, said that an environment-friendly pilot project will be started in Lahore with 25 electric buses. The legislation will be enacted to control the use of plastic for environmental improvement; he added. The solar panels will be installed on the roofs of government buildings under energy-efficient buildings plan in the divisions, while six DHQ hospitals had already been converted to solar energy, he explained.

Steel mills, rice mills, stone crushing, and leather processing industries will be included in the green investment project. Initially, loans of $30 million would be provided to 100 small industrial units; the CM said.

Moreover, during a meeting with a delegation of the dairy farmers association, the CM issued instructions for imposition of ban on the interprovincial transportation of maize in Punjab.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022