ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank will provide technical assistance to Pakistan on a grant basis to support the government’s efforts to create an enabling environment for infrastructure financing and public-private partnership at the federal level.

In doing so, the government hopes to attract private finance for infrastructure investments in priority sectors such as roads, housing, water and sanitation, aviation and technology — all high priorities in the government’s three-year Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

The ADB technical assistance will help the government prepare the project, design, the reform programme, and develop the capacity to implement the promotion of sustainable public-private partnerships programme, according to the project document.

The programme contains actions and initiatives to support reforms in strengthening the legal, regulatory, and institutional environment; strengthening national and sectoral infrastructure planning and project preparation; and strengthening multi-year assessment of fiscal risks.

An ADB document revealed that additional grant financing will also be explored from Asia Pacific Project Preparation Facility (APPF) to support the government in work relating to the development for priority sectors as well as capacity building.

This is expected to include support related to the development of sector strategies for at least two sectors to align public-private partnership projects with the development priorities of the government; capacity-related assistance that is linked to or is complementary to these sectors or projects, including reform that is linked to the policy, legislative, or institutional practices; development of sector-specific draft template documents; and potential transaction advisory services for specified projects.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2022