Punjab, IFC sign agreement

LAHORE: Punjab government and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, signed a framework agreement on advisory services for public-private partnership (PPP) transactions at P&D Complex, on Thursday.

P&D Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said public-private partnership would play a pivotal role in achieving the ambitious growth agenda of Punjab as Annual Development Programme alone was not sufficient to meet all development needs of the province.

Agha Waqar Javed, member, PPP/P&D Board, said the framework agreement between Punjab government and IFC was yet another step towards achieving private sector led growth through PPPs. Nadeem Siddiqui, country manager, IFC, Pakistan, said the IFC had advised various governments on over 200 PPP projects, which were now generating $11 billion revenue for these governments. Under the agreement, Punjab and the IFC had partnered to promote sustainable private sector investment and participation in infrastructure and social sectors. The IFC would assist Punjab’s PPP programme by providing advisory services for identification of potential projects, feasibility studies, project preparation, and implementation.