Pakistan to get $1.4bn WB loan, ADB to give $810m: Daily Times

* $1bn WB loan to have 17% interest
* ADB funds for power projects

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Programme (ADP) will give Pakistan $1.4 billion and $810 million in loans, respectively.

The WB's $1.4 billion lending programme will support development in various sectors during the current fiscal 2008-09 year, a senior official in the Economic Affairs Division told Daily Times on Wednesday. He said anonymously that the lending programme consisted of $1 billion loan under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and $400 million loan under the International Development Association's (IDA) country assistance programme.

Interest: He said the $1 billion IBRD loan would be provided on market rate, elaborating that market rate loans had an interest rate of 17 percent. He added that the $400 million IDA loan would be a soft loan, which is likely to have one percent interest rate, and would be for technical assistance.

Sources in the Finance Ministry say Pakistan is facing problems to return WB loans as there is a condition that they will be returned in any currency (dollor or euro), which has a higher value.

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