Pakistan and the World Bank signed two agreements of $371 million to support projects in the agriculture and social sector.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar witnessed the signing ceremony of two agreements worth $371.0 million with the World Bank to support projects in agriculture and social sectors at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Noor Ahmed, Federal Secretary Ministry of Economic Affairs, signed the Financing Agreements on behalf of the Government of Pakistan while representatives of Government of Punjab and Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa signed their respective project agreements online. Patchamuthu Illangovan, Country Director, World Bank signed the project agreements on behalf of the World Bank.
Supporting Human Capital Accumulation in Punjab by Early Investment Project – $200 million: The objective of the project is to increase the utilization of quality health services, and economic and social inclusion programs among poor and vulnerable households in the select districts in Punjab.
The total approved cost of the project is $330 million including the World Bank’s financing of $200 million.
The project will:
The project will address gaps in human endowments by promoting skilled birth attendance, immunization, school enrollment for early education, and addressing constraints for income-generating activities and diversification of income sources. The project will target the 11 (out of 36) most vulnerable districts of Punjab. Among the 11 districts, 8 districts are from South Punjab, where poor households are concentrated.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project – $171.0 million: The objective of the project is to improve the performance of irrigated agriculture for farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
The total cost of the project is $219.30 million. The World Bank will finance $171.0 million, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will bear the remaining cost.
The development objective of the project will be achieved through multiple aspects of performance:
The project will cover all districts and tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the newly merged FATA areas.
The Minister for Economic Affairs thanked the World Bank for extending continuous support to the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to achieve sustainable economic development in the country.
County Director of World Bank appreciated the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to develop the underprivileged areas of the country and betterment of health and education sectors and reaffirmed that his organization would continue to cooperate with Pakistan for sustainable economic growth and development projects.