Tag Archives: Asian Development bank

NDRMF gets US$25 million

on 01/03/2017

The ECC has approved the allocation of $25 million equivalent of funds for the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF). The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) has set up the fund to have a government-owned sustainable mechanism to support disaster risk financing instruments that can enhance the country’s resilience to natural calamities. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has shown an indicative assistance of $1.2bn as loan for this fund. The EAD and ADB had signed a loan agreement for $200 million in December 2016 as the first tranche against the total amount. The ECC also approved a grant of Rs12m as equity share of the government of Pakistan to clear liabilities and financial obligations to facilitate the wind-up process of Pakistan Textile City Limited.

Pakistan may overcome load shedding by 2018ADB expresses satisfaction with govt power policy

on 01/03/2017

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its hope that Pakistan would be able to overcome load shedding by 2018—A claim made by the government and yet many people are not sure about it. The bank, however, seems satisfied about government’s power policy. ADB Country Head Werner E Liepach who talked to a group of journalists said he was hopeful that Pakistan could end load shedding by 2018 provided the government continued its effort to achieve the goal. Werner E Liepach’s remarks have bolstered the image of the government as regards its promises to eliminate load-shedding. The ADB official sees things were moving in the right direction saying the capacity has increased and thus conditions have improved over the past few years. The bank, however, supported independent regulatory regime unlike the government which has put regulatory bodies under its control. He said the NEPRA was still independent in its decisions and an effective, efficient and independent regulatory regime helped the end consumer. The ADB has approved US$3 billion for the energy sector. The bank is providing $400 million for smart metering, which would improve efficiency of the companies. On privatisation of the DisCos, he said the ADB had asked for privatisation as it would increase efficiency, help reduce the circular debt and bring investment.