Government of Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Division and World Bank signed the Financing Agreement of $500 million for Second Power Sector Reforms Development Policy Credit (DPC) on Friday evening.
The Financing Agreement was signed by Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Secretary Tariq Bajwa on behalf of the government of Pakistan, while World Bank Country Director Patchamuthu Illangovan signed the agreement on behalf of the World Bank.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on this occasion welcomed formal signing of the agreement and said it was a realization of Pakistan’s concerted efforts for reforms in the energy sector. He said the government attached due importance to developing the energy sector and had chalked out plans to beef up power generation not only within its own tenure but also beyond 2018. He said that along with power generation, proper evacuation, transmission and distribution was also being accorded equal attention by the government.
The minister said that the DPC aims at supporting government of Pakistan’s goal of developing an efficient and consumer oriented electric power system that meets the needs of its people and economy, sustainably and affordably.
The DPC particularly focuses on policy and institutional actions that will improve financial viability and thus reduce the burden of public financing for the sector, he said, and added that the DPC also aims at improving sector performance and opening the market to private participation and ensuring accountability and transparency.