Debate over PM’s plea to build reservoirs

Donations are not enough to build dams, dedicated financing needed — economists

The campaign launched by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar in July, has gained further impetus after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s television address to the nation in which he made an impassioned appeal to generously donate money for dams and participate in the ‘Jihad’ for water.

Khan appealed to his Pakistanis, especially those living overseas, to contribute generously to the chief justice and prime minister’s joint account. “I am joining the Prime Minister’s account with the Chief Justice’s and appeal to each overseas Pakistani to at least contribute $1,000 in the fund,” Khan said.

The appeal has led to a debate on whether such a venture is possible with the help of donations. While the people at large support Imran’s initiative, leaders of various political parties and economic experts are sceptical.

According to them, Pakistan requires over $14 billion for constructing Diamer Basha Dam, which cannot be done by donations alone. The water reservoir is possible only through a consortium of multilateral and bilateral creditors to manage the financing, while power generation should be done in the second phase with investment from potential domestic and international investors through a competitive bidding process.

Former Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal is of the view that donations and foreign remittances would be helpful but the government also needed international financing and the allocation of a large amount in Public Sector Development Programme for new dams.

Economist Dr Kaiser Bengali told Gulf News that Khan’s vision of raising funds for dams was an almost impossible task. “It would be a miracle if the government gets enough donations for building dams,” he said. “We not only need massive donations but also cut non-development expenditures. If the government manages 50 per cent of resources, the rest can be assured by foreign companies.”