14.12.2011, Jeddah, KSA - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has signed a US$ 60 million lease finance (Ijara) agreement with Pakistan for the development of the Patrind hydropower project.

The agreement was signed in Islamabad by Ahmed Al Hariri on behalf of the IDB and Farouk Javed, CEO, Star HydroPower Limited.

Once operational in 2016, the environment-friendly project is expected to add a net generation capacity of 147MW to the national grid. It will help Pakistan increase the utilization of its renewable resources to generate power in an economically sustainable manner and reduce dependency on imported fuel.

Pakistan is the second largest beneficiary of IDB Group financings among IDB member countries. Since inception, total IDB Group commitment to the country has reached US$7.6 billion, including 85 projects for US$2.2 billion. Sector-wise, the distribution of IDB financing indicates a substantial share has gone to power generation and transportation.

IDB Group’s Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) for Pakistan for the period 2012-2015 focuses on numerous development priorities including improvements in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, health, education, private sector and capacity building.