By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan received a fresh influx of international financing on Friday as the Asian Development Bank approved $540 million to overhaul its struggling state-owned enterprises and bolster coastal defenses against climate disasters, while the World Bank separately greenlighted $400 million to expand water and sanitation services in the country’s most populous province.
The ADB’s package includes a $400 million results-based loan for the Accelerating SOE Transformation Program and a $140 million concessional loan for the Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project, the Manila-based lender said in a statemen.
Pakistan’s SOEs, including national airline Pakistan International Airlines, have racked up billions of dollars in losses from financial mismanagement and corruption, forcing repeated government bailouts to keep them afloat. As part of a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Islamabad has pledged to privatize these loss-making entities. “The program will also prioritize restructuring and commercialization of the National Highway Authority, one of the largest and most complex entities within Pakistan’s SOE portfolio,” said Emma Fan, ADB’s country program director for Pakistan. The SOE reform effort aims to improve governance and optimize the performance of commercial SOEs, she added.
The Sindh project targets vulnerable districts of Badin, Sujawal and Thatta, where it seeks to improve the lives of over 500,000 people, safeguard 150,000 hectares of agricultural land and restore 22,000 hectares of forest. Pakistan ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, with torrential monsoon rains this year triggering floods and landslides that killed 1,000 people.
In Punjab, the World Bank’s Punjab Inclusive Cities Program marks the second phase of its urban water, sanitation and hygiene initiative, focusing on rehabilitating water supply networks, sewerage systems, wastewater treatment plants and stormwater drainage across 16 secondary cities. The effort is designed to reach about 4.5 million people, curbing waterborne diseases and trimming long-term public health costs.
Many urban households in Punjab depend on contaminated water sources, exacerbating high rates of illnesses like diarrhea, typhoid and hepatitis that hit children and low-income communities hardest. The program will also extend solid waste management to an additional two million residents.
“Reducing child stunting is essential for Pakistan’s future. Through the Punjab Inclusive Cities Program, we are investing in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services to break the cycle of malnutrition and disease that holds back so many children from reaching their full potential,” said Bolormaa Amgaabazar, the World Bank’s country director for Pakistan. Child stunting, a chronic form of malnutrition, leaves children too short for their age because of prolonged inadequate nutrition, recurrent infections or subpar health and sanitation.
“In collaboration with the Punjab Government, the program represents a significant step forward in improving urban infrastructure and strengthening local institutions, thereby laying the foundation for healthier communities and a more prosperous Pakistan,” Amgaabazar said.
The initiative complements physical upgrades with capacity building and revenue strategies to sustain services, according to Amena Raja, a senior urban specialist at the World Bank. “It will also help Punjab’s cities better withstand floods and droughts, ensuring urban development is both environmentally responsible and resilient to climate change,” she said. To promote inclusion, the program will prioritize women in decision-making roles, set up gender complaint desks, build new skills among them and mobilize private capital for water and sanitation in secondary cities.
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