Islamabad – The government of Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank have officially entered into an alliance, in a major boost to the economy and energy sector of the country.
On Thursday, the two parties signed two comprehensive agreements amounting to 730 million dollars. This infrastructure support deal aims to repair the aging power lines within the country and reform the operation of state-owned companies.
Through these areas of concern, the government hopes to mitigate the common occurrence of power overload issues and administrative slowness that tend to retard the growth of the nation.
Strengthening the National Power Grid
A significant part of the investments, approximately 330 million dollars, is spent to make the national electricity grid more robust and reliable.
This component of the infrastructure support deal will assist in transferring 2,300 megawatts of electric energy in novel hydropower ventures to the residential and business enterprises that need it the most.
Economic Affairs Secretary Muhammad Humair Karim described this project as the backbone of the national grid.
It will prevent future overloading of the existing transmission lines, which is one of the reasons for power instability at peak hours in Pakistan.
Reforming State-Owned Enterprises
The other 400 million package is on a transformation program of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
This project, under the infrastructure support deal, will bring these big organizations more openness and efficiency.
Special attention will be given to the National Highway Authority, which will guarantee that roads and the transport systems of the country are operated more efficiently.
According to ADB Country Director Emma Fan, this program is timely in Pakistan since it will assist in transforming these government institutions into well-managed and sustainable institutions.
A Lasting Partnership for Progress
This recent agreement is a continuation of a series of successful partnerships between the two partners.
They have collaborated on a 200-million-power-distribution project earlier this year, and only a month ago, they gave the go-ahead on a 330-million-dollar transmission line between Islamabad and Faisalabad.
The infrastructure support deal, which was signed this week, is considered a revolutionary move not merely in terms of money provision; it is in terms of creating a stronger future.
