Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed an agreement amounting to $ 325 million for ‘Access to Clean Energy Investment Programme’.
Economic Affairs Division (EAD) additional secretary signed the loan agreement with ADB Country Director Werner Liepach. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, finance secretary, as well as senior officials of the Economic Affairs Division, Finance Division and ADB were also present on the occasion and witnessed the signing ceremony.
The minister said the ADB along with other development partners has contributed significantly for economic development in Pakistan. He appreciated ADB’s continued support, especially for energy and infrastructure sectors which were the top priority of the government. The ADB has all along been our great partner, he added.
ADB Country Director Werner Liepach said that the most significant aspect of the project being undertaken was that it was people-centric and as many as 2.6 million students would benefit from it, of which 1.2 million were girls.
The project will target off-grid areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and will contribute to Pakistan’s national goal of enhanced energy security. Of the $325 million loan, $237.3 will be utilized for projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the remaining $87.6 million will be used for projects in Punjab.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa component of the project will entail installation of around 1,000 micro-hydropower plants in off-grid locations, and installation of solar facilities in around 8,187 schools and public health facilities. In Punjab, solar facilities will be installed in around 17,400 schools and public health facilities, with at least 30 per cent of the said schools being girls-only schools.
The program will be implemented over a period of 5 years (2017-2021). It includes provision of training to women to equip them to use the benefits resulting from the availability of electricity in each province. The project will also provide for strengthening of the procurement, monitoring and internal audit functions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Punjab including the establishment of an information and communications technology driven programme performance monitoring system.
