By Muhammad Luqman
France will provide a soft loan of Euro 94 million ( Rs 11.7 billion) for the improvement of water resources in Pakistan’s third biggest city , Faisalabad.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, witnessed the signing ceremony of the Credit Facility Agreement for Extension of Water Resources Faisalabad phase-II Project in the capital, Islamabad on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Noor Ahmed, French Ambassador to Pakistan, Marc Barety, and Country Director of the French Agency for Development (AFD), Jacky AMPROU
AFD will provide a soft loan for the project for a period of 20 years including a grace period of 6 years at interest rate of 6-month Euribor with a spread of 52 basis points.
Groundwater quality of Faisalabad city, a home to 3.2 million people, is brackish. The proposed project will augment Faisalabad Water and Sanitation agency capacity to provide 30 MGD of additional clean drinking water to citizens of Faisalabad through surface water treatment plant.
France through the French Agency for Development is providing technical and financial support in energy and urban development sector in Pakistan. This project is AFD’s first investment in water and sanitation sector opening avenues for more collaboration with government of Pakistan.
