Govt to continue focus on PPP projects: Salman
By Asad Cheema

ISLAMABAD—Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Salman Shah has reiterated the government’s resolve to launch public-private partnership (PPP) projects on priority basis, asserting that collaboration between the public and private sectors was pivotal for the infrastructure development and the country’s accelerated growth and progress.
“After successfully introducing PPPs in the telecommunication and energy sectors, the Government was now all set to expand this partnership programme to other development sectors,” Dr. Salman Shah said while talking to a group of media persons here on Friday.
He said, the Government is committed to enforce PPP law, policy and institutional regulatory framework so as to usher a new era of development and prosperity in Pakistan.
He acknowledged the presence of skilled manpower in the private sector and said that the Government is taking serious initiatives to benefit from this opportunity by widening the scope of PPPs.
The Prime Minister’s Advisor said, the focal point for implementation of PPP programme is the Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF), which has been established to promote and facilitate the closing in of transactions involving private investment and management of public infrastructure, especially in the unregulated sectors at the provincial and municipal levels.
For creating awareness about the importance of PPPs in the fast track development of nations, Dr. Salman Shah said, IPDF is regularly holding seminars, conferences and workshops wherein public sector institutions, private sector investors and other stakeholders share their experiences and professional expertise.
He said that Pakistan has recently signed the Seoul Declaration, which would prove to be a milestone in giving a boost to the expeditious execution of infrastructure development projects in the country.
Under this Declaration, the PM’s Advisor said, a forum of states in the Asia-Pacific region would be established, which could lead to the initiation of various PPP projects between those states. Giving details about the Seoul Declaration, he said, for the promotion of PPPs, the United Nations had convened, in collaboration with the Government of Korea, a ministerial conference of the countries in the Asia- Pacific region. The conference was attended by ministers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Fiji and Myanmar, who expressed keen interest in Pakistan’s infrastructure development projects under the PPP module. The next conference on the vital role of PPPs in the infrastructure development would be held in Indonesia, he added.