The year 2016-2017 marks the 50th
anniversary of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-a milestone celebration for ADB
and all its partners and stakeholders.
Pakistan is one of the founding
members of ADB. ADB provided its first loan to Pakistan in 1968 to help the
country fund the credit requirements of small and medium-scale industries.
Since then, ADB has extended vital support to improve Pakistan's economy,
reduce poverty and achieve development goals.
Pakistan and ADB have worked
together to promote export, private sector efficiency, reform public sector
management, financial market development, improve social protection, emergency
assistance and prioritizing energy. A particular emphasis has been placed on
promoting the welfare of women.
ADB has been one of Pakistan's
largest and most steadfast development partners. As of 31 December 2016, ADB
has provided more than $29.5 billion in loans, technical assistance, and grants
to assist Pakistan achieve its development goals.
ADB: Through the Years.
In the 1970s, ADB stepped into
the area of power generation and transmission, including supporting natural gas
and hydropower projects. The Tarbela hydropower plant, one of Pakistan's
largest, was originally supported by ADB in 1974 and has been extended in
coordination with other development partners in subsequent decades. ADB also
extended vital assistance for Mangla dam and Ghazi Barotha power plants.
After a resident mission was
established in Islamabad, ADB focused its expertise and resources on supporting
efforts to grow the economy through free enterprise, privatization,
deregulation, and liberalization. This included promoting exports and bringing
private sector efficiency into health care and education.
By the middle of the 1990s, ADB's
work in Pakistan was focused on education, population welfare, public sector
management reform, and government decentralization.
In the early 2000s, a new
government put in place an economic reform program designed to build on efforts
in the 1990s to open the economy through privatization and economic
liberalization. The program, along with other factors, was a major boost to the
economy.
From 2005 to 2012, Pakistan and
ADB worked together to restore basic services and livelihood to millions of
people devastated by 2005 earthquake in northern Pakistan, and subsequent
floods in 2010 and 2011.
The period also marks projects to
upgrade transmission and distribution networks, improve transport
infrastructure and connectivity, agriculture and irrigations systems,
livelihood development, and investment to boost social security of poorest and
most vulnerable groups including women.
Between 2012 and 2015,
ADB-supported projects in Pakistan helped build or upgrade 2,454 classrooms and
train 656 teachers, benefiting 53,729 students. ADB's energy assistance
resulted in an additional 0.113 megawatts (MW) of power generation, as well as
the installation or upgrading of 729 km of distribution lines, providing
electricity to about 92,443 households. In transportation, ADB helped build or
upgrade 2,946 km of roads and highways that accommodated an average of
3,689,739 vehicle-kilometers daily during the first full year of operation.
ADB's water supply and sanitation
programs have provided a total of 32,944 households with improved sanitation,
and have installed or upgraded 1,075 km of water pipes, which now bring clean
water to 192,698 households. ADB projects financed wastewater treatment plants
with the capacity to handle a total of 570,000 cubic meters (m3) per day. And,
under its rural development projects, there were 162,976 micro-finance loan
accounts opened or end borrowers reached.
Through its regional cooperation
and integration projects, ADB has facilitated the cross-border transport of
9,279,000 tons of cargo per year.
ADB & Pakistan: Stronger
Together
ADB can reflect on its
achievements in Pakistan with pride. Pakistan and ADB have built highways,
rural roads, hydroelectric power plants, canals. schools, hospitals, financial
markets, and other critical facilities that improve lives and help pull
millions out of poverty.
Together with other development
agencies, nongovernment organizations, and the private sector, ADB is committed
to work to attract investment, create industries and jobs, and improve the
quality of life of Pakistan citizens.
On Pakistan and ADB 50 Years of Partnering for Development, a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on July 6, 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment