Introduction

A project financing seminar will be organised.

The objectives of the seminar would be threefold:

1. Inform key representatives of Pakistani Industry and other interested parties of the large number of options for financing of investments in environmental infrastructure such as hydropower stations, waste water treatment plants and cleaner production technologies.
2. Identify one or two projects and start putting together the financing package on the basis of clear project specifications (technical and financial).
3. Promote Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the environmental sector, including cooperation with companies from the EU.

Brief description

A seminar of one day will be held at which a number of project financing facilities and modalities are presented. Invitees will be key representatives from Pakistani industry and private sector, government officials, some donors and possibly suppliers. Main facilities to be presented are:

• Export promotion through FMO (Netherlands government)
• Deutsche Investitions- und Entwickelungsgesellshaft (DEG)
• Asian Development Bank
• UNDP PPP Urban Environment Facility

Each of these facilities and modalities have different requirements and options such as soft loans, grants, guarantees for loans from local banks, interest subsidy, long maturation periods, etc. Representatives of these institutions from Europe have been invited to present their products at the seminar.

A second step in the seminar will be to identify projects that merit further investigation to try to secure a financing package. Eventually a Venture Capital Fund will be established that targets infrastructural projects in Pakistan in the field of Water, Environment and Alternative Energy.

At present there are a number of organisations that have indicated their interest in contributing to the seminar, amongst whom the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Globe Foundation of Canada and the Saudi-Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investments Company. The seminar is furthermore supported by the Board of Investment, Government of Pakistan and the UNDP.

The seminar is scheduled for February 10, 2005 at the Islamabad Serena.

Follow-up

The follow-up of the seminar will be to do a brief assessment of the proposed projects in terms of technical requirements and financial viability. If both are positive, serious attempts at securing financing can be taken.

A second follow-up would be the establishment of a venture capital fund for projects in infrastructure with a developmental impact.

During the morning a series of presentations will be held by the financing facilities. In the afternoon a series of three workshops will be held to identify projects to be financed. The themes of the three working groups are:

1. Oil and gas
2. Manufacturing (Textile, Leather, Pharma)
3. Water and Energy

Schedule for Seminar