RAWALPINDI, July 6: The Punjab government will privatize 560 public sector enterprises and properties to repay its debt, official sources told Dawn on Wednesday.

According to the sources, the provincial government is faced with the growing debt burden and more funds are being allocated to service the debt leaving behind a little amount to fund different development activities and other critical social sectors.

The total volume of the debt is about Rs146.46 billion and this year over Rs28.42 billion will be spent on debt servicing, the sources said.

“The privatization of 560 enterprises and properties is likely to fetch over Rs4.1 billion. About 50 of these assets, estimated to be worth Rs3 billion, are with the Punjab Privatization Board, while the other 510 properties are with the district privatization committees having an estimated value of Rs1.22 billion, the sources added.

They said more assets were also being identified for privatization.

Moreover, the Punjab government is anticipating to generate a substantial amount through the sale of state land under illegal occupation, they added.