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Thursday March 28, 2024

British diplomat meets Shallwani to discuss public-private partnership projects’

By Our Correspondent
October 20, 2020

British Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi Mike Nithavrianakis called on Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Sohail Rajput at his office to discuss various projects underway in Sindh under public-private partnership.

Khalid Mehmood Sheikh, the public-private partnership unit director general was also present on the occasion. He gave a detailed presentation about the progress of the unit in Sindh. The visiting dignitary was informed about projects in health, education and infrastructure sectors executed under public-private partnership mode.

According to a statement issued by the Commissioner Office, mega projects to start in the future with the help of the private sector include the 39.75-kilometre Malir Expressway project, Water Conveyance Project for supplying 45 cusecs water to independent power producers (IPPs) in Thar Block I and waste water treatment plant for SITE, which were discussed in detail at the meeting.

The commissioner said the Sindh government was cognisant of the water problem faced by the people of Karachi and mega interventions on a sustainable basis are being undertaken to resolve the issue. He added that currently, the Asian Development Bank was providing assistance to the public-private partnership unit for the treatment of 360 million gallons of waste water per day, while the International Finance Corporation was providing transaction advisory services for revamping the Hub Canal.

Nithavrianakis lauded the efforts of the Sindh government to attract private investment through a robust framework and congratulated the director general on achieving the status of the sixth best public-private partnership unit in Asia, as declared by The Economist – a prominent journal of the world.

The British diplomat stated that the British Government, being a pioneer in the private finance initiative (PFI), was fully committed to collaborating in the area of public-private partnership.

He emphasised that Pakistan could also benefit from the UK Export Finance (UKEF), the British export agency, to support a diverse range of international projects which could further boost trade between the two countries.