The Punjab Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a ceremony at the Planning and Development Complex for the construction of a 500-bed hospital.
Secretary of economic affairs division, Noor Ahmad, and ADB Country Director for Pakistan, Xiaohong Yang signed the agreement. The grant financed from the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund will help provide life-saving medical supplies, diagnostic and laboratory facilities, and other equipment for communities affected by the pandemic.
Country Head, Pakistan Resident Mission, ADB Xiaohong Yang, P&D Board Chairman Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, and Punjab PPPA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Farrukh Naveed attended the ceremony.
Read more: ADB reaffirms support for development agenda, COVID-19 response
Under the signed MoU with the ADB, the PPPA would provide health-related data analysis of 10 cities of Punjab (Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mianwali, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, and Sargodha) to understand health services requirement.
Asian development bank has also signed an agreement to grant a loan for two districts of Punjab for the development work.
Usman Dar, the special assistant of the Prime minister said that according to the agreement, there would be development works in Sialkot and Sahiwal, worth Rs 40 billion.
In Sialkot, the projects of sewerage, sanitation, and solid waste management will be completed. The beautification of the city and the establishment of parks in the city are also part of the whole project.
Moreover, the Asian Development Bank and the government of Pakistan signed a $2 million grant agreement to strengthen Pakistan’s efforts to control coronavirus disease in the country.
The Country Director of ADB to Pakistan, Miss. Yang said that the Asian development bank continues to work closely with the Government of Pakistan and development partners to assist Pakistan in sustaining gains made in combating the pandemic. The grant to be administered through UNICEF will help strengthen Pakistan’s response to the COVID-19 challenge.
