Asad Umar urges private sector to invest in infrastructure projects

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Wednesday said that the government was encouraging private sector to come forward and participate in infrastructure development.

Chairing a meeting in Islamabad, Asad Umar said that public-private partnership has a lot of potential which needs to be fully utilized. He said the government wants the private sector to participate and invest in infrastructure projects.

The meeting reviewed various proposals relating to the formulation of rules, under Public Private Partnership Authority Act, Radio Pakistan reported.

The meeting directed the National Highway Authority to expeditiously complete the remaining work on the feasibility of Sukkar-Hyderabad Motorway project to enable early launch of the project.

The minister directed the management of the Authority to expedite work on the other projects in the pipeline.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed to ensure partnership of private sector in development projects and existing laws should be reviewed to provide maximum facilitation in this regard and remove bottlenecks to guarantee overwhelming participation of the private sector.

Presiding over a high-level meeting in Islamabad, PM Imran had said the development process can be accelerated by facilitation of the private sector and utilizing least resources in various fields like energy, infrastructure, tourism, and communication.