CS reviews progress on ADB-funded projects

LAHORE: A five-member delegation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) led by US Alternate Executive Director John Hurley met with Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal at the Civil Secretariat on Thursday.

The meeting also reviewed the progress on ongoing ADB-funded projects in the province and discussed ways to enhance cooperation and collaboration in various fields. Speaking on the occasion, John Hurley said that the ADB is willing to enhance cooperation with the Punjab govt in the areas of social development, agriculture, environment etc.

The Chief Secretary said that the investment of ADB in Punjab is highly appreciable as it would help achieve the targets related to development, social and economic uplift. He assured full cooperation in partnership between the provincial govt and the ADB. The delegates appreciated the efforts being made by the Punjab govt for economic development and said that the ADB would continue to play its role in the progress of Pakistan.

The delegation included Country Director Mr. Yong Ye, Asad Aleem, Noor Ahmed, and Umar Ali Shah while Secretary Planning and Development Mujahid Sher Dil was also present.Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Alternative Executive Director John Hurley and Country Director Yong Ye called on Chairman Planning and Development Board Abdullah Khan Sumbal at P&D Complex here on Thursday.

The objective of the meeting was to discuss provincial development outlay, priorities and implementation challenges, besides discussing ADB’s portfolio. In this regard a thorough briefing was given to ADB officials. It was briefed that 07 projects of ADB (costing US$ 821.642 million) including Irrigation, Urban Development, Energy and Regional Planning are actively working in the province while 15 projects (costing US$ 1985.21 million) including Urban Development, Irrigation, Agriculture, Roads, Skills, Education and Environment are in pipeline.

In the meeting, three pillars of ADB Pakistan Country Partnership Strategy (2021-25) and ADB Vision 2030 were also discussed in detail. Strategies of Punjab govt for development was also conversed in which areas of Disaster Risk Management, growth through private sector development, industrialising Punjab, enhancing value in agriculture and livestock, water resource management, energy efficiency and conservation, human capital development and knowledge economy & digital dividends were included. It is pertinent to mention that Punjab govt has had a longstanding relation with ADB and is considered key development partner in the province. The technical and financial assistance extended by international development partners supplemented Punjab’s domestic resources for achieving accelerated growth in development areas.

Chairman P&D Board said that the development priorities of Punjab are in sync with the national vision and are derived from key strategic documents - Punjab Growth Strategy 2023 and Punjab Spatial Strategy 2047. Increasing economic growth, job creation and productivity is the main focus of our development agenda. Therefore, sectors like Agriculture, Manufacturing, Services & MSME that have the highest impact on GDP will be a priority. He also said that to achieve this, a balanced approach towards equitable growth is necessary.