A new World Bank report sheds light on the boost in investment activitywithin the Pakistani ecosystem. Entitled *Private Participation inInfrastructure (PPI) 2020 Half Year Report**, *the report highlightsPakistan as one of the top five countries in the world with the mostinvestment commitments in the first half of 2020.

According to the World Bank report, Pakistan had the fourth-highestinvestment commitments during H1 2020, with a total worth of $1.9 billionthat accounts for 0.69 percent of its GDP. Not only is this an encouragingindicator of positive investment activity in the country, it is also thefirst time Pakistan has made it into the top five in this particularcategory.

This accomplishment can largely be attributed to the financial closure ofthe Thar Block-1 Coal-Fired Power Plant, which was the only project to becompleted during the first half of 2020.

“*The coal power project was developed under the umbrella of theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is part of an effort by theGovernment of Pakistan to improve energy security and reduce the averagecost of power generation by transitioning from oil to coal,*” stated thereport.

The following table sums up the countries with the most investmentcommitments in H1 2020:

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The South Asian region as a whole saw the second-highest investmentactivity in H1 2020, largely driven by Pakistan ($1.9 billion), India ($1.8billion), and Bangladesh ($1.2 billion). The report suggests that China hasbeen quite active as a sponsor of infrastructure and developmental projectsin the region, particularly in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

With the exception of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, and Thailand, mostof the private investments in energy were made in renewable energyprojects. For Pakistan in particular, this was mainly because of themassive coal project. According to the report, the World Bank expects thistrend of coal investments to continue for a while.