Senator Mohammad
Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance, Revenue & Economic Affairs, witnessed
a loan and grant signing ceremony between the Government of Pakistan and
Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday. Under the agreements signed, ADB will provide
loans of US$ 335 million for the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit Corridor
Project and US$ 100 million for Supporting Public-Private Partnership
Investments in Sindh Province. A grant agreement was also signed with ADB
for Supporting Public-Private Partnership Investments in Sindh Project
for which Department for International Development (DFID), UK will provide
US$ 19.23 million. The loan agreements were signed by Mr. Shahid Mahmood,
Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and Ms. Xiaohong Yang, Country
Director, ADB, while the project agreements were signed by representatives
of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Government of Sindh, with ADB.
Senior officials of Ministry of Finance, EAD, ADB and DFID were present
during the ceremony.
Welcoming signing of the
agreements, the Finance Minister thanked the ADB and DFID for providing
vital support to Pakistan, particularly for the road and energy sectors.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the government to further improve the
physical infrastructure of the country, including by leveraging private
capital to augment infrastructure investments. He expressed the hope that
the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh would benefit greatly from these
projects envisaged under the signed agreements. He said that the Peshawar
Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project entails construction of a 26-kilometer
corridor and associated facilities, which will benefit 500,000 people. He
also stated that Supporting Public-Private Partnership Investments in
Sindh Province Project will help in developing policies of the Government
of Sindh for sustainable infrastructure provision through Public-Private
Partnerships.
Country Director, ADB, assured
Government of Pakistan of ADB’s support, and appreciated the government’s
efforts to improve the economy and boost development in Pakistan. She said
that the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project will provide safer,
more efficient, and comfortable transportation options for the people in
Peshawar. She highlighted that the Supporting Public-Private Partnership
Investments in Sindh Province Project will help to mobilize more financial
resources from private sector, create jobs and generate income which will
further improve the overall economic growth.
Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit
Corridor Project will help develop a sustainable urban transport system in
Peshawar by delivering the city's first integrated Bus Rapid Transit
corridor. In addition to the construction of a 26-kilometer Bus Rapid
Transit corridor, the project also entails construction of associated
facilities such as sidewalks, on-street parking, high-capacity drainage
system along the corridor, improvement of access roads, energy-efficient
streetlights and intelligent transport systems for traffic management. The
project impact will be sustainable, low carbon and climate resilient urban
transport system in Peshawar. The project will also make Peshawar more
liveable and safe, boost private sector investment, and foster gender
equity. Supporting Public-Private
Partnership Investments in Sindh Province will strengthen the capacity of
Finance, Planning & Development and other line departments. The
expected impact of the project is aligned with the number of infrastructure investments
and services in Sindh.
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