Urban planning conference: Asian urban population burgeoning

ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a two day conference stressed the need for providing better civic facilities to rural areas to help reduce the immense pressure on urban areas. The event, “International Conference on Framework for Economic Growth Pakistan”, was organised by the Planning Commission of Pakistan in collaboration with UNDP. While speaking on the occasion German Development Agency (GIZ) Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) Programme Coordinator Emiel A Wegline said that by 2020, of the 4.2 billion urban population of the world, approximately 2.2 billion would be in Asia, adding that $100 billion per year would be required for bridging the urban infrastructure investment.  He said that CDIA was providing assistance to Pakistan in urban transport, water sanitation and industrial waste management with the help of the Asian Development Bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2011.