Pakistan: TA Loan for Megacity Development

Finance - Finance sector development - Infrastructure finance and investment funds

Transport - Transport policies and institutional development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services - Urban policy, institutional and capacity development - Urban sewerage - Urban slum development - Urban solid waste management - Urban water supply

The economy and population of Karachi has expanded significantly, but few investments have been made in the city's urban infrastructure facilities for over two decades. Infrastructure and services, that are inadequate and unreliable, are adding to business and household costs, hurting Karachi's urban and natural environments, and decreasing the city's global competitiveness compared with alternative Asian mega cities. The Government's recent Devolution policy provides major benefits to be realized, but has left many issues to be addressed in areas such as (i) fiscal imbalance and unclear and incomplete allocation of responsibilities between levels of government and (ii) inadequacy of the city's and towns' financial and technical capacities to fully meet their new responsibilities within the devolved framework. There is a need for substantial and long-term capacity building at the city and town levels if the devolution would yield the intended benefits for more effective urban service delivery. There is also increasing recognition that the growing gap between urban infrastructure demand and current supply cannot be met through traditional government sources, including local government revenues, subsidies, and transfers from the higher levels of Government. Alternative sources of financing and new ways of providing infrastructure and services are required.

In its midterm development framework, the Government of Pakistan made a commitment to enhancing the competitiveness and quality of life in its large cities. The Government constituted a high-level committee led by the Planning Commission for coordinated development of its mega cities, starting with Karachi as a central plank of its economic development strategy. In this context, the Government requested, and ADB has agreed to assist the Government in addressing the mega city challenges. The Project which combines interventions for enhanced city governance and finance and improved economic infrastructure and social services conforms with ADB's current country strategy and program update whose major trusts are good governance, sustainable economic growth, and inclusive development.

International and/or domestic consulting forms will be recruited using ADB's quality- and cost-based selection and quality based selection (QBS) procedures as appropriate for each subproject. Certain subprojects will utilize QBS as they require expertise of limited availability. Individual consultants will be engaged in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants and other arrangements satisfactory to ADB on the engagement of domestic consultants.

Specialists in urban planning, water supply, sewerage, solid waste management, urban transport and roads, low income community upgrading, private sector participation in urban infrastructure provision, economics, finance, social development, resettlement, and environment will help CDGK carry out comprehensive feasibility analyses and where necessary engineering designs, preparation of bid documents, and procurement of goods and services in a manner satisfactory to ADB. Specialists in urban governance, urban/municipal finance, institutional development, corporate governance, will also be recruited to help design and implement programs under the Capacity Building Facility.

Tentative estimates for the consulting services requirements for the whole TA Loan are about 145 and 430 person-months of international and domestic consultants, respectively.