Public Sector Enterprises Reforms Project: EAD, ADB sign loan, project agreements worth $20 million

Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Saleem Sethi and Country Director, ADB, Werner E. Liepach, here on Tuesday inked loan and project agreements worth $20 million for Public Sector Enterprises Reforms Project in Pakistan. The Public Sector Enterprise Reforms Project will strengthen the Government of Pakistan's capacity to privatise and restructure its designated public sector enterprises (PSEs). The expected impact will be reduction of the fiscal and economic costs associated with Pakistan PSEs.
The Project will finance consulting services to strengthen the technical capacity of the Privatisation Commission to manage privatisation transactions and monitor transactions advisory services. The recruitment of experienced transaction managers to the Privatisation Commission will enable it to handle more complex and higher numbers of transactions. The Project will enhance the current strategy for privatisation to make it more comprehensive, time-bound and with clear guidelines for prioritising PSEs to be privatised. The Project will also support professional development of Board members of PSEs subject to restructuring.
The Project will fund accounting, management and financial consulting services to develop the capacity of the Finance Division to effectively monitor the PSE portfolio. The Project will support enhancement of the database of government's shareholding position in PSEs that has been developed by Finance Division.
The Project will finance technical experts to support sector efficiency assessments and preparation of sector restructuring roadmaps. The Economic Reforms Unit (ERU) will co-ordinate work in these regulatory reform challenges. The project may also finance competitions assessment studies in sectors impacted by privatisation and restructuring of PSEs. The Project will recruit consultants to support the Project management Unit (PMU) that will implement and manage all activities funded by the Project. The consultants will provide expertise in project management, financial management, and procurement. The PMU will be established in the Finance Division, which will be responsible for overall co-ordination of the work, reporting on overall implementation progress, recruitment and performance of consultants.