LAHORE: The Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of $200 million for launching the first phase of the Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Programme (PICIIP).

The ADB also plans to sanction further $250 million in future for the second phase of the PICIP a programme aiming at introducing various interventions for improvement and provision of civic facilities, including the Solid Waste Management, in various cities of Punjab.

`The PICIIP`s first phase will support interventions in two Punjab cities of Sialkot and Sahiwal.

Tot al cost to be incurre d on phase-I is $250 million that includes $200 million being financed by the ADB and $50 million to be provided by the gov-ernment, equivalent as counterpart funds,` reads a letter of Nov 6 written by PICIIP`s Programme Director (Local Government and Community Development Department) to the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) reads.

The PICIIP management, which sought cooperation in facilitating a high-level delegation of consultants from the ADB in knowing about the LWMC`s operational and business model on SWM, also revealed the project`s second phase to be launched in four cities of the province.

`The second phase, which will support interventions in the cities of Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan,Bahawalpur andMuzaffargarh,isexpected to involve a further $300 million of ADB financing and $75 million of counterpart funds.

Therefore, you are requested to hold a meeting with the consultants including Mr VictorVillareal, Muhammad Rehan, Mr Serhat Ruby, Ibrahim Mammadzadeh, and Ms Deena Khan to discuss LWMC`s business model amid institutional arrangement and experience,` it explains.

Talking to Dawn, an official said a delegation comprising ADB`s consultants on finance, SWM, institutional experts etc held a meeting with the LWMC`s administration on Wednesday.

`During discussion, we briefed the delegation about the best management and operational practices of the LWMC. They all were of the view that the LWMC is Pakistan`s only SWM Company working under a corporate model in Lahore,` an LWMC of ficial, who requested anonymity, told Dawn. He said the delegation would now further brief the ADB about its assessment on LWMC business model and replication of the same in various cities under PICIIP`s phases.