Pakistan signs five financing agreements worth $787 million with World Bank

Dunya News

EAD Secretary Noor Ahmed signed the loan agreements on behalf of the government of Pakistan.

(Web Desk) – Pakistan and the World Bank Group on Tuesday signed $787 million worth of loan agreements for projects of improvement in urban mobility, urban management and service delivery, improved water and sewerage services, and tourism and power sectors.

The Economic Affairs Division (EAD), under the ministership of Minister for Economic Affairs Muhammad Hammad Azhar witnessed the signing ceremony of five projects, including three for Karachi s mobility, clean drinking water and local councils, one for KP tourism infrastructure and another for the closure of the financial gap for power purchase from Central Asia.

Economic Affairs Division Secretary Noor Ahmed signed the loan agreements on behalf of the government of Pakistan while the representatives of the governments of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and National Transmission & Despatch Company Limited signed the project agreements of their respective projects. Country Director World Bank Patchamuthu Illangovan signed the agreements on behalf of the World Bank.

The projects in different sectors include Karachi Mobility (Yellow Line) project, Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement (1st Phase) project, Competitive and Livable City of Karachi project, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development project, and additional financing for Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) project.

While appreciating the reform initiatives of the government, World Bank Country Director Patchamuthu Illangovan committed to extending possible support and facilitation to the government to help put the economy back on track.

EAD Secretary Noor Ahmed signed the loan agreements on behalf of the government of Pakistan. The World Bank country director signed the agreements on behalf of the bank.

On Friday, Mr Azhar stated that the World Bank (WB) has restored Budgetary Support to Pakistan on account of strengthening of economic stability.

The minster took to Twitter and wrote that both the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and WB had suspended budgetary support to Pakistan during 2017 due to rising macroeconomic imbalances that had arisen in the economy at that time.