The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to provide about $10 billion in fresh assistance to Pakistan over the next five years for various development projects in the areas of urban services, disaster risk reduction and policy-based programmes.
This was stated by ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Eugenue Zukhov in a meeting with Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub on Tuesday.
“Additional financing of $700 million is currently available to Pakistan to procure Covid-19 vaccines under the ADB’s APVAX facility,” he said.
He appreciated the government of Pakistan’s support for successfully evacuating the ADB personnel working in Afghanistan.
Zukhov emphasised the ADB’s commitment to support Pakistan’s reform agenda and boost economic recovery process amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the occasion, Ayub said that urban services had become a huge priority for the government given rapid urbanisation and population growth in Pakistan.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to improve urban infrastructure and services including water, sanitation and public transport.
Citing figures, he said that the ADB was financing 32 development projects worth $6.4 billion in diverse sectors including energy, road and transport, agriculture and irrigation, urban services, education, healthcare and social protection.
