Govt to seek advisory services from ADB for uplift projects

Financial institution will assist in all stages of development schemes, from conceptualisation to its financial close

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to seek advisory services from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the planning and management of its development projects, including reforms-oriented ones and those under the public-private partnership arrangement.

The assistance will entail the formulation of the project strategy, structuring and procurement. The government will sign up a transaction advisory service (TAS) framework on an international level with ADB for this purpose.

The ADB section of the finance ministry has already prepared a draft for the TAS framework agreement and forwarded it to the authorities concerned including the ministries of finance, communication, energy, law and justice, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

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According to a copy of the draft available with The Express Tribune, the international agreement is being signed so that federal ministries and their divisions, departments and offices as well as organisations and entities under government control could benefit from the ADB’s advisory services through a high-level legal framework.

After the legal framework, a government body will be able to seek help from ADB’s advisory services.

As per the agreement, separate terms and conditions will be formulated for ADB’s services pertaining to each governmental project for which the financial institution and the government authority concerned will also sign a project-specific mandate letter.

The project will be executed as per the agreed mandate letter.

The draft further stated that the agreement would be binding upon signing of the written contract and would remain in force until clause 10.1 of the agreement was not revoked.

The contract will be international in nature and as such would also take into consideration rule 5 of the Public Procurement Rules 2004 pertaining to procedures of procurement for government projects. The terms and conditions for the project will override the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002, Public Procurement Rules 2004 and all other rules and regulations, according to the draft.

Under the contract, a government institution will be able to get fix the ADB’s advisory services on the basis of a single source and direct contract in compliance of Public Procurement Rules 2004.

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The government will facilitate the ADB in finalising the TAS for the government department or institution concerned. As per the draft, the ADB will also facilitate government bodies in the selection and prioritisation of development projects while the draft of the TAS agreement for every project will be forwarded to the government department concerned after which terms and conditions and the related working relationship for advisory services will be finalised.

The ADB will assist and advice government departments in all five stages of the development project, beginning from the stage of conceptualisation to its financial close. The ADB advisory services will also be available to a government department if it needs assistance in any other stage subject to signing of a separate contract.