ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has proposed linking a $600 million financing program for Pakistan to a series of reforms, including removing wheat and sugar from the Import/Export Order, 2022, increasing private-sector participation in urea imports, and eliminating regulatory barriers to investment and trade.
Official documents show the proposed Pakistan Bold Reforms for Investment-Driven Growth and Employment, or BRIDGE, program aims to address structural constraints that have kept private investment at about 10% of GDP — less than half the rate of regional peers — while foreign direct investment stands at roughly 0.6% of GDP.
The bank has proposed $600 million in financing for a five-year program aimed at removing regulatory barriers, expanding access to finance, boosting exports and improving skills alignment to attract private investment and generate jobs in Pakistan.
According to the World Bank's project document, the program has a total estimated cost of $1.193 billion, including the $600 million World Bank contribution and $593.38 million from the government. It comprises a $1.173 billion results-based program and a $20 million technical assistance component. The operation is proposed for approval in January 2027.
The initiative comes as Pakistan seeks to shift from macroeconomic stabilization toward sustained, private investment-led and export-oriented growth. The bank identified a costly and complex regulatory environment, limited access to finance, high trade costs and a mismatch between workers' skills and employers' requirements as major impediments to investment and productivity.
The program, to be coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, will focus on three areas: reducing regulatory, financial and trade barriers; improving competitiveness in high-potential export sectors; and strengthening labor market functioning and skills alignment.
Under the first area, the program envisions operationalizing the Pakistan Business Portal as a one-stop digital platform for business approvals and enacting a modernized Investment Act to strengthen investor protection and improve transparency. It also envisions introducing a unified corporate insolvency law, a dedicated factoring law and fully operationalizing the Export-Import Bank of Pakistan with a banking license and internationally compliant export credit and guarantee products.
Trade facilitation reforms will seek to reduce the time required to clear imports and exports while expanding internationally recognized accreditation to improve the competitiveness of Pakistani businesses.
The second area targets agribusiness and therapeutic goods, including pharmaceuticals. The program proposes a single national system for approving seed varieties, greater private-sector participation in urea imports and removal of wheat and sugar from the Import/Export Order 2022 as part of efforts to deregulate the two sectors and encourage private investment.
For pharmaceutical exporters, the program will support efforts to help the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan achieve World Health Organization Regulatory Maturity Level 3 status and membership in the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme. These steps are intended to improve access to regulated international markets and multilateral procurement opportunities.
The third area seeks to bridge the gap between workers' qualifications and market demand through a national Labor Market Information System linking relevant government databases, stronger vocational qualifications and digital migration services. It also envisions Global Skills Partnership agreements to create structured overseas employment pathways for workers with internationally recognized qualifications.
The bank's document notes that more than 3 million Pakistanis enter the labor market annually, underscoring the need to translate investment into productive employment. Women are identified as a priority beneficiary group across the program's three areas.
The proposed operation is aligned with the government's URAAN Pakistan economic transformation plan and supports the target of increasing private investment to 15% of GDP by 2035. Its performance will be assessed through indicators covering business registrations, access to financing, trade-clearance times, internationally recognized accreditation and vocational qualifications.
