Pakistan can take rapid strides towards economic development by establishing strong partnership between the public and private sectors, at all stages of projects, right from their inception to the concluding practical phase, in keeping with the well established and internationally recognised practices.
Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Aijaz Ahmad made these comments in a seminar on "draft public private partnership standardised contractual provisions" here on Friday. The seminar organised by the IPDF aimed at initiating a consultative process between the representatives of public and private sector organisations to finalise a framework for the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
Leading bankers and investors, representatives and officials from Federal and provincial governments, city and local governments and public sector agencies, executives from law firms and insurance companies as well as other stakeholders actively participated in the seminar and presented their opinions on the draft PPP framework.
The IPDF CEO observed that the progress in the developed states bears testimony to the fact that the provision of basic infrastructure services plays a pivotal role in accelerating the pace of national economic growth. "The government of Pakistan recognises the importance of improving and expanding infrastructure services for sustaining the country's socio-economic development in its Medium Term Development Framework 2005-2010," he added.
He informed the audience that to facilitate PPP projects by providing expertise and hands-on support to the public sector implementing agencies, the government has recently established IPDF under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. "In addition, a PPP policy Task Force, under the chairmanship of Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah, has also been constituted to provide a forum for the stakeholders to formulate recommendations on various components of the PPP framework, ie legislation, risk management framework, standardisation of contractual provisions and viability gap funding," he added.
Regarding the Draft Standardised PPP Provisions and Draft Model PPP Agreement, Aijaz Ahmed said that IPDF has prepared this document to facilitate the public and private parties for expeditiously achieving financial close and implementing the PPP Agreement in an efficient manner. He said work on several PPP initiatives were already underway in the country. These included: Lahore Mass Transit project, Islamabad-Rawalpindi Mass Transit project, environment friendly public transport (CNG Buses) service, Islamabad IT Park, multipurpose water reservoirs, CBR Automation Project, Kalinger Water Supply and Charsadda Solid Waste Management.
In his address, Dr Asad Ali Shah, Member (Infrastructure) Planning Commission, said economic progress was dependent upon strong linkages and interaction between the public and private sectors. In Pakistan, the government is looking to the active participation of the private sector in the national economic development effort, he added.
"We have opened discussions on the draft PPP contractual framework, as we believe that private sector's assistance and expertise would have a fruitful bearing on the government initiated process of economic development," he added.
Observing that infrastructure services can have a direct and immediate effect on the living standards and poverty alleviation efforts, he said, "Potable water and sanitation can dramatically reduce debilitating and life-threatening diseases, while electricity can transform the quality of life for urban and rural citizens, better roads can connect isolated communities to markets and modern modes of telecommunication can empower poor people by putting them in touch with markets, services and the society at large."
Dilating upon public-private partnership as a pre-requisite for rapid economic growth, Legal Consultant IPDF, Ejaz Ishaq Khan aid a PPP Agreement provides a strong base for taking the country on the path to rapid progress, involving the sharing of risks and rewards of multi-sector skills, expertise and finance to deliver the desired policy outcomes. Other speakers were Dr Asad Ali Shah, Planning Commission Infrastructure Member and Head PPP Task Force and IPDF Legal Consultant Ejaz Ishaq Khan.