The Asian Development Bank has approved a $6 billion loan to help develop the ailing electricity network and launch key infrastructure projects in Pakistan. The bank will provide funds for the projects related to health, education and highway construction while it will also finance a 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant in southern areas of the country. According to economic affairs ministry, The ADB has agreed to finance $6 billion for various projects over the next five years. The coal-fired power plant will help the country in addressing chronic electricity crisis. The bank will also provide funds to build small hydroelectric dams which will add from 100 to 300 megawatts electricity to the national grid.
It is unfortunate that despite having money and resources, no government in Pakistan dared build the Kalabagh Dam and the project has reached a dead end. The politicians who are on the payroll of Indian intelligence agencies will never allow the construction of Kalabagh Dam which is the lifeline of the country. The nation has been facing energy crisis for the last two decades but the members of fifth column have nothing to do with the sufferings of the people. The world is changing fast and the country is expected to see accelerated economic growth in the coming years, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting 4.1 percent expansion this fiscal year and 4.5 percent growth next year. The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has also upgraded the country’s credit rating outlook from stable to positive. However, shortage of electricity remained the major area of concern, affecting every sector of the economy in the country. The country is facing an annual power shortfall of around 4,000 megawatts in the peak summer months –June and July — when temperatures reaches 50 degree Celsius in parts of the country.
The government should also give some attention to the Pakistan railway which is the major source of goods transportation in the country. If the government wants to boost the economy, it should have to improve the railways infrastructure. It is appreciable that the government has launched various roads projects in various parts of the country. However, railway is the cheapest mode of goods transportation and better the railway track means better the economy. The government has already signed a $46 billion economic corridor project with China which will ease goods transportation in various parts of the country. The government should ensure transparency in utilisation of the ADP funds and it should make sure the money should not be syphoned off by unscrupulous elements within the administrative machinery.
