World Bank commits $465mln loan for energy, HR projects

KARACHI: The World Bank on Saturday committed $465 million in financing to expand sustainable electricity trade between Central Asia and South Asia and support higher education in Pakistan.

“The two projects support Pakistan’s long-term vision for building high quality talent and promote the creation of a regional energy market to boost economic prospects for millions of Pakistanis,” World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Illango Patchamuthu said in a statement. “Both projects form part of the priority areas identified in Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future, a flagship initiative that identifies frontier interventions for Pakistan to become an upper middle-income country by 2047.”

The $400 million higher education development in Pakistan project would strengthen tertiary education to produce skilled, innovative and enterprising graduates. It will strengthen partnerships with industry for strategic research and develop data-driven governance of tertiary education.

“The project will also support the improvement of teaching and learning at the affiliated college level for improved mid-level skills and employability of graduates.” Tazeen Fasih, lead economist at the World Bank said. The project supports the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan’s vision 2025 program, developing tertiary education as part of the government’s aim to become an upper-middle income country.

Another project financing is for the Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (Casa-1000) that would enable sustainable electricity trade between Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan. The project will use $65 million in additional financing to complete infrastructure part of the Casa-1000 project in Pakistan. It will help meet the growing energy demand in Afghanistan and Pakistan by transferring surplus summer hydropower from the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.

The $1.2 billion of Casa-1000 energy project was approved in March 2014 with the date of its completion expected in 2020. The project envisaged supply of 1,300 megawatts of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: 300MW to Afghanistan and 1,000MW to Pakistan. In April, the World Bank sanctioned a $24 million in grant financing from the International Development Association for the project, while the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and US Agency for International Development pledged an additional funding of two million for the Casa-1000 multi-donor trust fund.

“Casa-1000 will also improve livelihoods for people living along the energy corridor, sharing the prosperity associated with the project.” Fowzia Hassan, senior energy specialist at the World Bank said. The International Development Association, the concessional financing arm of the World Bank, is funding both projects.