PTI’s legacy: KP’s debt soars to Rs530 billion in five years

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has accumulated a debt of Rs530 billion by borrowing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international financial institutions in the last five years mainly during the tenure of the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

According to a “Debt Bulletin” released by the KP Finance Department, the rate of foreign borrowing by the provincial government from June 30, 2022 to June 30, 2023 stood at 47.70 per cent, which was higher compared to the previous fiscal year.

According to the statistics from the Debt Management Cell of the KP Finance Department, the provincial government borrowed a total of Rs530 billion from institutions like Asian Development Bank, International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other international financial entities from 2017-18 to 2022-23.

As per the report, these loans have been acquired for 110 projects, including 11 in the education sector, 12 in the agricultural sector, five in economic development, 10 in the energy and power sector, and 12 in the health sector. Additionally, 19 projects in the irrigation sector are part of the borrowing.

Rs 390m conditional funds released to KP universities

The report highlights that the loans for the BRT Peshawar Project, Mardan Sawabi Double Road Project and Cities’ Improvement Project have been the highest among the external borrowings.

According to the KP Finance Department’s report, from June 1 to July 30, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government signed agreements for new loans totaling Rs89 billion with the Asian Development Bank and the International Development Association. These include Rs24 billion for the health system project, Rs13 billion for the emergency flood assistance project, and Rs49 billion for the rural investment support project.