World Bank on Tuesday pledged 350 million dollars for financing projects in different sectors to help Pakistan enhance efficiency and productivity in education, social protection and water resource management sectors. The government of Pakistan signed three agreements with the World Bank for financing the projects in the following sectors:
-- Higher Education Support Programme: 100 million dollars;
-- Social Safety Net Development Policy Credit: 200 million dollars, and
-- Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project: additional financing of 50 million dollars.
The terms and conditions of all the three IDA credits will remain as per the World Bank standard - maturity period of the credit is 35 years with a grace period of 10 years. These credits are interest-free and the government of Pakistan has to pay nominal service charges of 0.75 percent and commitment charges of a maximum of 0.5 percent per annum.
The agreements were signed by EAD Secretary Farrakh Qayyum on behalf of the government of Pakistan and acting Country Director Said Al-Habsy on behalf of the World Bank. Speaking at the signing ceremony, EAD Secretary Farrakh Qayyum said that disbursement of the loan was expected next week, and added the programme loan would not only improve infrastructure, but would bring fiscal space to the government to implement its development agenda.
Speaking next acting Country Director Said Al-Habsy appreciated the government's efforts to launch social safety programme, and hoped that it would be a transparent mechanism to help the poor families. He said that financing in HEC would result in bringing quality education to the country. He said that World Bank was already financing water management in Sindh and additional financing would lead to establishing 3,000 watercourses. This programme will also help mobilise farmers, he said.
The objectives of Higher Education Support Programme (100 million dollars) was to improve the quality and relevance of teaching and research, expanding access and enhancing equity in higher education.
The project would help strengthen governance and management of higher education and improve fiscal sustainability and effectiveness of expenditure in higher education, he opined. He said the objective of Social Safety Net Development Policy Credit (200 million dollars) project was to recognise the need to provide immediate support to poor families and improve the existing safety net programmes.
The government launched Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in 2008 as Pakistan's main social safety net system. The short-term objective of the program was to cushion the adverse impact of the food, fuel, and financial crises on the poor, but its broader objective was to meet the re-distributive goals of the government by providing a minimum income support package to the chronic poor and those who were highly vulnerable to future shocks, he said.
The objective of the Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project (additional financing of 50 million dollars) is to enable farmers to better manage irrigation water and increase agricultural productivity by:
-- Improving the efficiency, reliability and equity of irrigation water distribution.
-- Supporting agricultural productivity enhancement measures to complement and enhance the benefits of improved water management.
-- Enhancing the long-term financial sustainability of the irrigation system by fostering the growth of self-sustaining Watercourse Associations (WCAs) and Farmer Organisations (FOs).