Pakistan seek huge loan and grants worth $2.4 billion from top financial institution
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan seek huge loan and grants worth $2.4 billion from top financial institution.
The Asian Development Bank disbursed record $2.4 billion loans and grants, including $1.8 billion in programme lending and $634.3 million in project lending, to Pakistan during the year 2019.
The ADB provided $1.8 billion in policy-based loans, including $1billion in immediate budget support to shore up the country’s public finances and $500 million to improve trade competitiveness.
According to the data issued by the ADB, it also provided additional financing of $200 million to help support the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) — part of the government’s flagship Ehsaas Poverty Alleviation Strategy, aimed at reducing inequality and investing in economically disadvantaged people.
The ADB approved a $235 million loan to Sindh in 2019 to help develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) system with innovative energy and climate resilience features in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most populated city. The bank also approved a $75 million project to enhance secondary education in the Sindh province.
To help strengthen project readiness prior to approval, the bank approved project readiness financing totaling $17.3 million in 2019 for the “Cities Improvement Project” in Khyber Pakhtunkwa and the “Water Resources Project” in Punjab. In agriculture, the ADB accorded approval for utilising surplus loan proceeds of $21 million for a major change in scope of Trimmu and Panjnad barrages, adding Islam Barrage, while work on Jalalpur Irrigation Project was initiated with $275 million financing.
During the year 2019, the ADB also approved a grant of $5.1 million for enhancing Punjab technology-based agriculture and marketing, market development and preparing Kurram Tangi Integrated Water Resources Development Project. In the energy sector, the ADB maintained its strong presence with an ongoing portfolio of $2.2 billion covering energy generation, transmission, distribution, energy efficiency, renewable energy development, and analytical tools and advisory assistance.
The ADB committed a $300 million policy-based loan that will help Pakistan to address financial sustainability, governance, and energy infrastructure policy constraints. The bank’s ongoing portfolio in the transport sector totals $2.5 billion and spans urban corridors, border crossing points, greenfield motorways and expressways, and existing national and provincial highways.
