By Ayesha Saba

Pakistan is implementing 86 foreign-funded development projects with a combined cost of about Rs4.2 trillion, according to the Monthly Development Update released by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives.

The report states that the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) portfolio includes these foreign-supported projects being executed in various sectors of the economy.

According to the report, out of the total 86 foreign-funded projects, 15 are fully financed through external funding, while the remaining 61 projects are implemented with local counterpart financing along with foreign assistance.

For the fiscal year 2025-26, a rupee cover of Rs229 billion has been allocated for these foreign-funded initiatives under the development budget.

The Planning Ministry’s update explains that the Ministry authorizes one-line releases to sponsoring ministries and divisions in accordance with quarterly ceilings determined by the Finance Division under the development budget release strategy.

Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) of ministries and divisions are empowered to release and sanction funds for both foreign aid and local components of these projects based on their respective implementation requirements.

According to the report, ministries and divisions had sanctioned Rs85.7 billion under foreign-funded projects during July–February FY2025-26. Out of this amount, development expenditure recorded during the same period reached Rs63.5 billion.

The report also provides details regarding major development partners supporting these projects.

Among the external partners, the World Bank accounted for the largest share of sanctions, with Rs42.9 billion approved during July–February FY2025-26. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) followed with Rs27.7 billion in sanctions.

Other development partners supporting projects included multiple donors contributing Rs7.0 billion, the Republic of Korea providing Rs4.1 billion and the United States contributing Rs2.9 billion.

In terms of expenditures, the World Bank-supported projects recorded spending of Rs35.1 billion during the same period, while Asian Development Bank-funded initiatives recorded expenditures of Rs17.1 billion.

Projects supported by multiple donors recorded spending of Rs6.4 billion, while Korea-supported projects recorded expenditures of Rs2.9 billion. United States-supported projects accounted for expenditures of Rs1.2 billion during the period under review.

According to the Planning Ministry’s report, foreign-funded projects remain an important component of Pakistan’s development portfolio and support priority initiatives across multiple sectors of the economy under the federal development program.

Credit: INP-WealthPk