ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will enlist the help of the Biden administration to use its influence over multilateral lenders to provide loans to Islamabad for nearly two dozen projects with an estimated cost of $13 billion.
Pakistan is preparing a document detailing the plans.
The special document, featuring the US and Pakistani flags, is being prepared and will be shared with US officials at the January 9, 2023 donor conference for flood reconstruction in Geneva. Affected areas in Pakistan
More than two dozen infrastructure projects worth $13 billion will be shared which have been cleared by relevant and competent forums and are ready for investment at any time.
There is one project called Flood Protection Project with an estimated cost of $4 billion and the rest of the projects will be related to irrigation and others.
Of the total reconstruction cost of more than $16 billion, the government has planned to use $8 billion from its own budgetary resources, while the remaining $8 billion will be sought from multilateral and bilateral lenders as the floods subside. Financing gap needed for reconstruction. affected areas.
Considering donor fatigue and involvement in other parts of the world, the government devised a strategy to save 50 percent of resources from its own kitty to start reconstruction projects in the medium term.
The remaining $8.2 billion will be sought from donor communities in this hour of need.
Of the $8.2 billion financing gap identified by Pakistani authorities, multilateral lenders including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have pledged to finance the reconstruction phase in flood-affected areas. Committed and approved $2 billion projects for while $400. The million was re-purposed by these multilateral financial institutions.
So far, Pakistan has received pledges of 2.4 billion dollars. It was expected to receive another $1 billion from other multilateral and bilateral lenders at a donors’ conference in Geneva.
A maximum of $3.5 to $4 billion in pledges is expected to be jointly hosted by Pakistan and the United Nations. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how much the international community will help Islamabad in rebuilding flood-affected areas in Pakistan.
Pakistan will continue to seek grants from donors for education, health and other social sectors at the upcoming conference.
