Govt Diverts $370 Million from Different Projects to BISP for Flood Relief

The government has diverted $370 million from different development projects to Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) for the assistance of flood-affectees, revealed Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Ayaz Sadiq. He commented while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division (EAD) which met under the chairmanship of Mian Najeeb-ud-din-Awaisi. The minister said that an amount of Rs. 30 billion has already been disbursed to flood affectees under BISP. He stated that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank (WB) would finalize the ‘Damage Need Assessment Report’ on Friday, which will present the real picture of the total damage caused by flash floods. However, a more comprehensive report would be finalized by 15th October. The minister updated the committee regarding foreign-funded projects (FFPs) and the working of the National Coordination Committee (NCC). Projects are rated as satisfactory, moderately satisfactory and problematic based on disbursement target, time run-over, additional commitment charged, and project rating. In this regard, the basic function of the ministry is to review problematic projects, track implementation delays, and recommend measures to address impediments, he said Ayaz Sadiq, while informing the committee about the delay in different FFPs, said that the particulars of the Jamshoro Power Generation Project have been sent to the Prime Minister’s Inspection team for an inquiry as the project was facing an inordinate delay. The progress on all the projects is monitored by the ministry on daily basis through the dashboard, he added. The minister highlighted that the current portfolio of the World Bank in Pakistan is $13 billion out of which $8 billion has remained undisbursed. He stated that a project of auto metering worth $45 million was closed by the previous government. However, the incumbent government is working to divert this amount to other projects. The committee was informed that Pakistan’s external public debt as of June 2018 stood at $71.126 billion, which increased to $88.836 billion by June 2022. It was also highlighted that the external public debt includes over $9.481 billion of commercial loans on which the government is paying five to seven percent interest with a lesser maturity period compared to bilateral and multilateral loans having an interest rate of 2 to 2.5 percent. The committee asked for a detailed briefing by the ministry on the problematic projects relating to the energy and water sectors in the next meeting. Furthermore, the committee also directed the ministry to submit updated details regarding FFPs.