ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday signed in
a $325 million worth of loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to
improve access of rural households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to
renewable energy.
Minister for Finance,
Revenue and Economic Affairs Senator Ishaq Dar witnessed the agreement signing
ceremony for the ‘Access to Clean Energy Investment Program’ spanning over five
to 10 years.
“The ADB assistance
will contribute to Pakistan’s national goal of enhanced energy security,” a
statement said. “The program will support the provincial governments of Khyber
PakhtunKhwa (KPK) and Punjab to achieve increased access to sustainable and
more reliable electricity services for vulnerable communities.”
The investment program
includes expanding access to renewable energy, notably micro-hydropower plants
in rural off-grid areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and decentralised solar plants
for education and primary health care facilities in KPK and Punjab. It will
also provide women and girls with increased opportunities to obtain energy
services and benefits, enhance institutional capacity to foster sustainability
and promote public sector energy efficiency in Punjab.
“ADB along with other
development partners has contributed significantly for economic development in
Pakistan,” finance minister said in the statement. Senator Dar
appreciated ADB’s continued support, especially for energy and infrastructure
sectors which, he said, are the top most priority of the government.
“ADB has all along
been our great partner,” he added. The minister also referred to the
fresh Fitch ratings, which reaffirmed Pakistan’s rating at ‘B’ with a ‘stable’
outlook. Citing a Bloomberg report, he said most of Pakistan’s developments are
fairly positive.
“All this bears
testimony to the economic achievements of the present government through a
concerted reforms agenda,” he added. Werner Liepach, country director ADB said
most significant aspect of the project is that it is people centric, “and as
many as 2.6 million students will benefit from it, of which 1.2 million are
girls.”
Of the $325 million
loan, $237.3 will be utilised for projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the
remaining $87.6 million will be used for projects in Punjab. The KPK’s
component of the project will entail installation of around 1,000
micro-hydropower plants in off-grid locations, and installation of solar
facilities in around 8,187 schools and public health facilities.
In Punjab, solar
facilities will be installed in around 17,400 schools and public health
facilities, with at least 30 percent of the said schools being girls-only. The
program will be implemented over a period of five years (2017-2021). It
includes provision of training to women to equip them to use the benefits
resulting from the availability of electricity in each province.
The project would also
strength the procurement, monitoring and internal audit capacities of
provincial governments, including the establishment of an information and
communications technology-driven performance monitoring system.
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