QUETTA: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has promised maximum assistance for infrastructure development projects, poverty eradication and natural resource exploration in Balochistan.

ADB Country Chief Werner Liepach held out the assurance to Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch during a meeting on Wednesday. The Chief Minister’s Adviser on Financial Affairs Kaiser Bengali and Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, besides some senior officials, attended the meeting.

The ADB delegation was informed about special attention the province needed for improving the standard of life and implementing its development programme.

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“We are facing fund shortage to rid poverty and build infrastructure linking the new port city of Gwadar with the rest of the country,” Dr Baloch said.

The government had earmarked maximum budget for improving education and health sectors, the ADB was told.

Depletion of underground water to an alarming level could turn the land barren and there was a need to build medium and small sized dams to help replenish it, the ADB team was informed. Investment in mining and other sectors would help in resolving the employment issue.

The team was informed that the deep sea port in Gwadar could not become functional due to non-connectivity through rail and road network.

“We need infrastructure and road connectivity for making the Gwadar facility fully functional,” Dr Baloch said. He said the province needed financial support from international institutions.

Mr Liepach said Balochistan had great potential in various sectors, including minerals and agriculture, and foreign investors could benefit from this opportunity. “The ADB will extend maximum financial assistance and cooperation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2014