WB agrees to launch $145m projects in Sindh
The World Bank and the Sindh government agreed to launch a $145 million Sindh Covid-19 Response Programme and a Locust Control Programme in the province.
This decision was taken in a meeting between Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and World Bank country director Patchamuthu Illangovan through video link. The chief minister took part in the meeting from the CM House and the WB director with his team from his Islamabad office.
The chief minister was assisted by Energy Minister Imtiaz Sheikh, CM's coordinator Haris Gazdar, chairman of P&D Mohammad Waseem, energy secretary Musadiq Khan, finance secretary Hassan Naqvi and investment secretary Najam Shah.
At the outset of the meeting, the CM said his government with technical and financial support of the World Bank wanted to launch a Covid-19 impact programme. He said that resource mobilisation through diversion of funds/restructuring, re-purposing and realigning World Bank portfolio would be required for the purpose.
He said specific monitoring system was being developed in Karachi. "But I want a high impact Covid-19 monitoring system to be developed for the entire province," he suggested to the WB. Murad says Sindh is far ahead of other provinces in coronavirus testing
According to Mr Shah his government had planned to disinfect all the public places, bus stands/stops, offices, proper cleaning of roads and public areas, cleaning of storm-water drains, establishment of two garbage transfer stations and two landfill sites in the city. The WB chief approved the proposal and said the provincial government could use funds to the tune of $135m from its different projects by diverting the amount until the project was formally approved at the forums concerned.
Murad Ali Shah said that the coronavirus crisis had badly affected economic activities in the province. "The small and medium enterprises have faced considerable losses, therefore, the provincial government has worked out a plan to extend small loans and financial support to daily wagers," he said.
The WB assured the chief minister that they would support the Sindh government to revive economic activities in the province and rehabilitate the daily wagers through a separate programme and it would be made part of the Covid-19 response programme.
The chief minister said that after
Covid-19 another threat of locust attacks on the standing crops had emerged. "Locust swarms have already damaged one-third of the cropping area of the province," he said.
He said that his government wanted the WB to extend its technical and financial support to the provincial government so that crops and desert areas could be sprayed at the earliest, otherwise locust swarm attacks would destroy the crops and thereby food security issues would develop in the province.
The WB approved $10m for the Locus Control Programme and advised Sindh to divert the funds from Sindh Agriculture Growth Project and start locust control programme. The
WB would arrange more funds for the agriculture growth project
The meeting decided to constitute a team of the World Bank and the P&D department under its chairman Mohammad Waseem to smoothen the way for restricting, re-purposing and realigning the World Bank portfolio.
The chief minister and the WB country director also discussed renewable energy projects. The WB would support Sindh in developing solar and wind power projects.
The energy minister briefed the meeting on the ongoing renewable projects and also discussed the options of hybrid renewable power projects.