By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved Technical Assistance (TA) of $300,000 on a grant basis to the government of Pakistan for the preparation of Balochistan Economic Report (BER).
The TA is expected to be implemented over 18 months, from January 2005 to June 2007.
Methodology and Key Activities: The main integrating theme of the BER will be the formulation of a cohesive strategy to target sustainable, widespread growth. The ADB will lead the preparation of the report and provide technical expertise in (i) small-and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and private sector development; (ii) urban economies and urban sector development; (iii) Gwadar port development, economic geography and transport networks; and (iv) fiscal and financial management.
The World Bank will provide technical expertise in (i) agriculture, livestock, water, and irrigation; (ii) mining and the oil and gas sector; and (iii) public service delivery and poverty reduction. The proposed policies will be aimed at cross-sectoral growth and integrated economic development. The focus of ADB’s area of responsibility will be as follows.
Impact and outcome of the TA: The desired impact of the TA is to improve policy formulation in Balochistan by providing a cohesive strategy for stimulating economic activity and accelerating growth and development.
The TA will primarily support technical studies, facilitate policy dialogue and assist the government of Balochistan in organizing the annual Balochistan Development Forum (BDF) in April 2006 and March 2007.
The intermediate output will be the BDF in April 2006, where a policy vision paper stating Balochistan’s immediate and medium-term economic development goals will be presented. The paper will be based on an analysis of economic and human development trends and a preliminary estimate of provincial accounts. The final output of the TA will be the BER, to be presented at the BDF in March 2007.
Generating Income and Employment: The report will highlight key growth poles for the region. Certain sectors, such as the SME sector, mining, agribusiness, and fisheries, could generate incomes and employment. The BER will review the key barriers to private sector development in these sectors and identify viable initiatives to stimulate private investment and capital accumulation.
Developing SMEs and Private Enterprise: The ADB will provide technical expertise to (i) identify the financial, regulatory, and institutional constraints on SMEs; (ii) conduct a structural analysis of the SME sector, supported by a quantitative survey of small-scale industries, and stratify the sector by scale and industry; (iii) highlight sub-sectors with high potential for growth and private sector investment; and (iv) propose an integrated strategy to promote SME development and employment generation.
Developing the Urban Sector: The ADB experts will assess the potential of urban growth centres in Balochistan. They will look at the nexus between regional development (for instance, agribusiness in northern Balochistan, mining in Chaghi district, cross-border trade through Chaman and the Gwadar port development along the coast) and investment in infrastructure and roads. To arrive at the urban strategy, the experts will (i) analyze major cities and townships in Balochistan and assess their potential to function as urban growth nodes; (ii) design a strategy to integrate regional economic development with urbanization; (iii) assess the socioeconomic impact of urban growth and migration on the provincial economy; and (iv) design an urbanization policy to support urban development and facilitate the growth of service infrastructure for regional economic industries.
Improving Fiscal and Financial Management: Sect-or specialists will build on the work of the BRMP and update the framework for efficient public revenue and expenditure management.
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