February 21, 2020: In 2019, ADB's loan and grant disbursements to Pakistan amounted to $2.4 billion, comprising $1.8 billion in program lending and $634.3 million in project lending.
ADB-Supported Programs and Projects ADB provided $1.8 billion in policy-based loans, including $1billion in immediate budget support to shore up the country's public Finances and $500 million to improve trade competitiveness.
ADB also provided additional financing of $200 million to help support the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) — part of the government's flagship Ehsas Poverty Alleviation Strategy aimed at reducing inequality and investing in economically disadvantaged people.
ADB approved a $235 million loan to Sindh in 2019 to help develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) system with innovative energy and climate resilience features in Karachi, Pakistan's largest and most populated city. ADB also approved a $75 million project to Enhance Secondary Education in Sindh.
To help strengthen project readiness prior to approval, ADB approved project readiness financing totalling $17.3 million in 2019 for the Cities Improvement Project in Khyber Pakhtunkwa and the Water Resources Project in Punjab.
In agriculture, ADB approved a major change in scope of Trimmu and Panjnad barrages adding Islam barrage by utilizing surplus loan proceeds of $21 million and initiated work on $275 million Jalalpur Irrigation Project.
ADB approved a grant of $5.1 million for enhancing Punjab technology-based agriculture and marketing, market development and preparing Kurram Tangi Integrated Water Resources Development Project. In the energy sector, ADB maintained its strong presence with an ongoing portfolio of $2.2 billion covering energy generation, transmission, distribution, energy efficiency, renewable energy development, and analytical tools and advisory assistance.
In 2019, ADB committed a $300 million policy-based loan that will help Pakistan to address financial sustainability, governance, and energy infrastructure policy constraints. ADB's ongoing portfolio in the transport sector totals $2.5 billion and spans urban corridors, border crossing points, greenfield motorways and expressways, and existing national and provincial highways.
In 2019, ADB committed a $75 million loan to widen and upgrade 42 kilometres of the busy Mardan–Swabi road in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
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