Centre plans $18bn water infrastructure push over next decade
Two outlets report the federal investment plan, but neither carried a project list, a financing breakdown or the name of any official behind the figure.
ISLAMABAD: The federal government is planning an $18 billion investment in strategic water infrastructure over the next decade, according to two Pakistani outlets that reported the figure on Tuesday.
Profit by Pakistan Today carried the plan under the headline that Pakistan seeks $18bn to improve water security. The News International reported that the Centre plans $18bn of investment for strategic water infrastructure over the next decade.
The two reports do not frame the money in identical terms. Profit's headline describes the government as seeking the funds, while The News describes a planned federal investment. Whether the $18bn is an allocation already provided for, a sum to be raised from external financiers, or a target still under negotiation was not resolved in either account.
Neither report, as available to this newspaper, named the officials or department behind the plan, set out which projects the money would go to, or gave a start date for the decade-long period. It was also not stated whether the figure covers storage dams, canal lining, irrigation channels, urban supply systems or a combination of them.
Water security has been a recurring subject of federal planning debate in Pakistan, and announcements of large infrastructure outlays are routinely made before financing and project lists are settled. Without a published breakdown, the $18bn figure cannot be checked against any budget document or lenders' pipeline.
Skardu Times could not independently verify the amount, the timeframe or the source of financing. Readers should treat the figure as reported by the two outlets rather than as a confirmed federal commitment until the government publishes details.
This story will be updated if the government issues a statement giving the project list, the financing plan or the names of the officials concerned.
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