Tuesday, May 6, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 29, 1429    

‘Sustainable infrastructure must for development’

Islamabad—Speakers at a two-day workshop stressed the need for an appropriate policy package to ensure sustainable development of infrastructure facilities and cater to the ever-growing infrastructure needs in the country.

The workshop on Public Private Partnerships and Municipal Services was organized by Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) with an aim to help formulation standard framework for the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships.

The speakers said that country’s massive infrastructure needs coupled with limited resources, rapid population growth and an escalating trend in urbanization signify the need for an appropriate policy package to ensure sustainable development of infrastructure facilities.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Advisor to Ministry of Finance, Ghafoor Mirza said that the government realized the need to fill gaps between the demand and supply of infrastructure.”

He said that the government has established IPDF, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Finance, in order to develop a comprehensive PPP program for generating growth and closing gaps between the supply and demand of infrastructure requirements of the country.

“IPDF is a catalyst to increase the number and volume of public infrastructure transactions that provide value for money for the beneficiaries of the facility, while assuring that private sectors providers are able to earn adequate returns for quality services.”

The main focus of the program is to financially assist and promote sustainable and viable projects by using the potential market forces that deliver critical goods and services to the people at affordable prices, he added.

Earlier, the World Bank’s Operations Advisor, Mr. Said Al-Hasby, in his welcome address highlighted the importance of Public Private Partnerships as an integral reform policy tool to fund future infrastructure investment in the country.—APP