Islamabad: September 10, 2020

Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister for Economic Affairs 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 & provincial senior officials. The World Bank’s ongoing portfolio in Pakistan is worth 10.4 billion dollars for 52 projects. The World Bank’s financing for federal development projects amounts to US $ 6 billion while the Bank is providing $ 1.9 billion to Punjab, $ 1.9 billion to Sindh, $ 0.4 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and US$ 0.2 billion to Balochistan. The objective of the 3-days portfolio review meetings is to assess the progress of ongoing WB-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. 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 & power, road, education, health & 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, 2020. 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. The Minister emphasized on the quality and timely provision of public services to the general public. Mr. Hartwig Schafer, Vice President, WB also telephonically called Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister for Economic Affairs and discussed the matters of mutual interest. He assured the Minister of WB’s continued support for post-COVID economic recovery and employment creation.