ISLAMABAD: The government is in the process of constituting a special “Foreign Assistance Monitoring Cell” to effectively monitor the timely disbursement and utilisation of foreign assistance for development projects, said Secretary Economic Affairs Division Nargis Sethi on Friday.

Reviewing the portfolio of Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Pakistan for the year 2010-13 with visiting ADB Director-General for Central West Asia, Klause Gerhaeusser, Ms Sethi said that the cell was being created in line with the directives of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

She informed the ADB delegation that the government is concerned about the slow disbursement and implementation of various projects and has directed to evolve a proper mechanism to expedite projects implementation, remove unnecessary procedures and channelise the funds disbursement according to the agreed timeline.

Speaking on the occasion, the ADB official said that he has come to Pakistan with a view to assess the current situation and requirements of the country which he would present before the ADB board meeting. ADB would continue its consultation with the government for finalising the ‘Country Operational Business Plan’ for 2014-16.

The meeting reviewed the current status of the ADB funded projects in the country. It also discussed in detail the parameters to further improve the completion of these projects, especially in energy and communication sectors.

The meeting was attended by representatives of concerned ministries, provincial representatives, representatives of implementing agencies, country representatives of the ADB and relevant stakeholders.