ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $1 million technical assistance grant to help the Pakistan government promote environmental management among industries, says a press release.

The loan has been provided by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and administered by the ADB.

The grant will be utilized to fund training for provincial environmental protection agencies and local government agencies in all the four provinces.

Besides, developing environmental action plans for industries to set performance standards, the technical assistance involves more efficient utilization of raw materials, such as water and energy, and eliminating toxic substances used in production process.

The plan is expected to result in less pollution and an opportunity to lower per-unit costs of production.

“The assistance aims at transferring best international practices on industrial efficiency and environmental management to Pakistan and providing training to government agencies and industry associations to promote these practices in the industry,” said an ADB renewable energy specialist, Samuel Tumiwa.

The industrial environmental management is imperative because the WTO will require all countries exporting to its member countries to meet environmental guidelines.

According to the country director at ADB’s resident mission in Pakistan, Marshuk Ali Shah, ADB is also working in collaboration with the environment ministry to prepare a loan of approximately $100 million for building six common effluent treatment plants and two toxic waste handling facilities. These initiatives will help continuous growth of private sector.

He said the ADB’s assistance would focus on strengthening and adding value to the existing government initiatives to ensure that the gains were sustainable.

The estimated cost of the technical assistance is $1.25 million.

A steering committee has been constituted to coordinate the three projects and optimize effective participation, coordination and implementation of the technical assistance.