ISLAMABAD: Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtiar chaired a high-level Portfolio Review Meeting of World Bank-funded projects in Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Country Director World Bank, and relevant federal and provincial senior officials.
The World Bank’s ongoing portfolio in Pakistan is worth $10.4 billion for 52 projects. The World Bank’s financing for federal development projects amounts to $6 billion while the Bank is providing $1.9 billion to Punjab, $1.9 billion to Sindh, $0.4 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and $0.2 billion to Balochistan.
The objective of the three-day portfolio review meetings is to assess the progress of ongoing World Bank-funded projects, discuss implementation issues and suggest remedial measures to tackle those issues in a timely manner to ensure smooth implementation of projects and maximize disbursements.
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Moreover, pipeline projects are also being discussed to ensure their alignment with national priorities, readiness and timely approval of PC-Is/IIs.
On the first day of portfolio review, federal projects related to water and power, road, education, health and social protection sectors were discussed. On the second day, the projects related to Sindh and Balochistan were discussed, whereas projects of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be reviewed on 11th September.
During the portfolio review, Minister for Economic Affairs highlighted the government priorities and stressed upon the participants the need for concerted efforts to achieve the targets defined by the incumbent government.
The minister also directed the concerned authorities to remove the bottlenecks and expedite the pending actions to ensure smooth implementation of the development projects. He emphasised on the quality and timely provision of public services to the general public.
Mr. Hartwig Schafer, Vice President, World Bank also had a telephonic conversation called the minister and discussed the matters of mutual interest. He assured continued support for post-COVID economic recovery and employment creation.
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