Ahmed Khan Malik

The public-private partnership (PPP) portfolio in Sindh province has grown to Rs 700 billion in 2024 since its inception in 2010, when it was only Rs 5 billion.

Sindh has a diversified PPP projects portfolio, which covers education, health, roads & bridges, water, energy, transport, information technology, industrial & economic zones and forestation. Currently, projects worth Rs 142 billion are in the construction phase, while projects worth more than Rs 267 billion are in the investor solicitation stage and expected to be awarded to private partners by June 2025, according to the details provided to WealthPK by the officials in the provincial government. According to the details, under the PPP mode, the 12.2 km-Ghotki-Kandhkot Bridge will be built, becoming the longest bridge over the Indus River. The NED Technology Park is Pakistan’s first Technology Park with the cost of Rs. 25 billion and this innovative collaboration with the Kuwait Investment Authority will surely enhance the IT sector’s overreach. Malir Expressway project’s first segment of 15 kms, stretching from Qayumabad to Quaidabad, is going to be completed in 2024 at a cost of Rs 27.58 billion. The Nabisar-to-Vajihar Project has been designed to provide water supply to Independent Power Producers located in Thar Block 01 at a cost of Rs 69.5 billion.

The M9-N5 link Road Project is a 22-km road project under the PPP mode. Its toll collection has commenced for the initial 7.2 kilometers. Dhabeji Special Economic Zone project comprises an industrial zone covering 1530 acres at Dhabeji, Thatta, under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is also being built under the PPP mode. The PPP mode of procurement, though at the nascent stage in Pakistan at present, has great potential in the future, said Khurram Laghari, Director of PPP Board, Sindh. He said that in view of the special characteristics of PPP projects and the need to attract qualified private investors to support these projects, a special legal and regulatory framework has been put in place by enacting a new law and promulgating new rules for PPPs. These policy guidelines have been drafted to supplement the legal and regulatory framework for PPPs and to assist both the private and the public sectors in implementing this innovative procurement methodology, he said.

He said that Sindh is a pioneer in carrying out the development work under the PPP mode and now other provinces are also following its footsteps. Recently, Balochistan government has announced to undertake the development projects under the PPP mode in the province to pace up the development. For sustained development, PPPs will have to be mainstreamed in Sindh, rather than being used just for a few special projects. To fully utilize the PPP potential and to ensure that such projects are successful and mutually beneficial, a comprehensive enabling environment for private investments in infrastructure facilities is being created through the adoption of relevant policies, establishment of a legal and regulatory framework and introduction of clear guidelines for cost recovery and PPP financing arrangements.

Credit: INP-WealthPk