ISLAMABAD, July 20: The World Bank is expected to provide $2.5 billion concessional assistance to Pakistan over the next four years for infrastructure development, power sector reforms and other development schemes under the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF).

Informed sources told Dawn on Wednesday that a World Bank team would visit Pakistan from July 25 to finalize a three-year $1.5 billion indicative lending programme on concessional terms for Pakistan during fiscal 2006-08.

The team would remain in Islamabad for about a week and negotiate broad terms and conditions of the project implementation in power sector, human resource development, mega projects and infrastructure development.

This financing plan under the international development assistance (IDA) would be based on a priority list of development projects the government had proposed recently. For the fiscal year 2006, the World Bank financing to Pakistan would be about $1 billion. The total IDA funding for the next four years to Pakistan would be $2.5 billion, the sources said.

The programmes, which would receive funding through IDA include Khushhal Pakistan Fund, Punjab Barrage rehabilitation, polio eradication and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund for supporting grass root social mobilization and lady health workers, etc.

The list of priority projects has been prepared on the basis of MTDF 2005-10 requirements and that could be implemented on a fast track basis.

The focus of the indicative lending programme would relate to the problems of human resource development, energy, water, unemployment, infrastructure building, second-generation reforms, vocational and technical education and others.

The indicative lending programme would also support Pakistan’s investment areas like oil and gas exploration, communications, infrastructure development, construction of highways, ports, agriculture development, technical and vocational education, banking and services.