ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: The government has finalised a plan to double its annual development expenditure from $8 billion to $16 billion with the help of private sector to improve the crumbling infrastructure.

“We will launch this plan this year as part of a public-private partnership programme and it will be formally incorporated into the budget for 2008-09 from the next financial year,” Minister for Finance Dr Salman Shah told Dawn here on Thursday.

He said the current development programme of about $8 billion would be doubled with the help of local and foreign investors.

The previous government had initiated the programme with the objective of increasing the development budget by 10 per cent of the GDP through private sector support as it was being done in many other countries, including Japan and South Korea.

Replying to a question, he said that initially local and foreign private funding would be arranged for improving the infrastructure, especially railways, roads, public transport, hospitals and universities. Some of the projects, he said, had already been taken up through public-private partnership.

He said the private sector would be encouraged to join the public sector and all possible fiscal and non-fiscal incentives would be given.

Dr Salman said it was becoming difficult for the government to continue providing development funds and it was time to seek the support of the private sector.

He rejected suggestions that arranging funds from private investors would be difficult and said: “there is a need to put a certain framework, which will be introduced soon to lure investment from outside the government.”

Earlier speaking at a workshop, Dr Shah said the country was in dire need of more infrastructural projects with collaboration of the public and private sectors.

He said the government had started a training programme for senior officials of the federal ministries concerned and provincial governments so that the private sector investors could be encouraged and guided properly.