Category: Dawn

Dawn, Finance for PPPs & entrepreneurs, International Finance, Pakistan, Pakistani Initiatives, Published Op EdsLeave a comment

Seismic costs

imadahmed

Dawn | October 7, 2018 Imaduddin Ahmed WHEN considering investment in an infrastructure project, responsible investors or donors would ask: what is the need? What are the financial, social and environmental costs? What are the risks and the unknowns? Is the project likely to yield higher costs than benefits? Is the project the best option to address the need? Pakistan’s judiciary and government have called upon Pakistanis to invest in the Diamer-Basha and Mohmand Dam Fund, and yet they have insufficiently addressed these questions. The Supreme Court’s online app­eal is not accompanied by a feasibility study. From the outside looking … Continue reading Seismic costs

Dawn, Pakistan, Published Op Eds, Published WorkLeave a comment

Courting disaster

imadahmed

Dawn | August 18, 2017 Imaduddin Ahmed SIXTEEN million people in Pakistan lack access to safe water. Scarcity of clean water and poor sanitation claim 19,000 children under five years of age in Pakistan annually, according to WaterAid. Per FAO/World Bank data, Pakistan’s internal renewable freshwater per capita is less than that in Syria, whose civil war has in part been attributed to water scarcity. The Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources forecasts worsening scarcity. The way in which new hydroelectric plants on the Chenab and upstream Jhelum are operated by India could further exacerbate shortages. Besides taking the … Continue reading Courting disaster