KARACHI – Roads play a vital role in the development and prosperity of any country, and the present government is paying full attention to the construction, repair and renovation of Sindh’s essential roads, said Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah at the CM House on Tuesday.
Presiding over the fifth meeting of the Public-Private Partnership Policy Board as the board’s chairman, Shah said that by initiating various projects under public-private partnership, the provincial government has taken the lead and set an example for the other provinces.
He said that 33 percent work on the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Dual Carriageway Road Project has been carried out and the project is expected to be completed by April next year. He termed the project as important, feasible and advantageous. The CM said that the public-private partnership initiative in Sindh is President Asif Ali Zardari’s vision.
He directed all the stakeholders to strive for initiating more projects to ensure economic development in the province. Finance Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch informed the participants of the meeting that a comprehensive policy has been prepared under the guidance of the Asian Development Bank, which works as an impetus for the public-private partnership initiative.
The board members approved the Project Development Fund guidelines that would be followed for public-private partnership projects in the future. They also approved funding for ongoing and subsequent projects to be undertaken under public-private partnership. The members were also shown a documentary about the progress on the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Dual Carriageway Project, following which they appreciated the pace and quality of work carried out thus far.
The CM was assured by the independent engineer of the project that conforming to good industry practices, the road would be completed within the stipulated timeframe. The board members then approved the financing documents prepared for the project. They also approved the financing documents for the financial close of Rs 2.5 billion loan that would be obtained by the concessionaire of the project.
According to international public-private partnership practices, the credit limit was also extended for minimum revenue generation, interest-rate exchange, etc. The CM appreciated the efforts of the Finance Department, whereas other projects, like the Hyderabad-Badin Road and the Sindh Road Network, were also discussed in the meeting.
The meeting was also attended by Senior Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah, CM’s Adviser on Planning and Development (P&D) Kaiser Bengali, Chief Secretary Abdul Subhan Memon, P&D Additional Chief Secretary Ishaq Lashari, Works and Services Secretary Rasool Bux Phulpoto, Labour Secretary Mukhtiar Soomro, Education Secretary Naheed Shah Durrani, CM’s Principal Secretary Alamdin Bullo, MA Jabbar, Miftah Ismail, Tanveer Ahmed, Ali Khan, Zeeshan Hussain and Abrar Khattak.
