The European Union (EU) has delegated a €12 million grant to the French Development Agency (AFD) to provide technical assistance aimed at strengthening water and sanitation services in Faisalabad and Lahore.
This grant will support the Faisalabad and Lahore Water and Sanitation Agencies (F&L WASAs) and the Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering Department (HUD&PHED), complementing AFD's infrastructure investments in the water and wastewater sectors.
The agreement was signed in Islamabad by H.E. Mr. Nicolas Galey, Ambassador of France to Pakistan, Mr. Vincent Thevenot, Country Director AFD Pakistan, and Dr. Kazim Niaz, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, in the presence of Dr. Sébastien Lorion, Acting Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan, and Mr. Marc-Antoine Leclercq, the newly appointed Country Director AFD Pakistan. It reflects the EU's and AFD's shared commitment to improving basic services and institutional capacities for the benefit of the people of Pakistan.
The technical assistance, including equipment funding, will support the adoption of modern tools and technologies-such as digitization and metering-and contribute to reducing water losses, improving service delivery, and strengthening governance and policy-making capacities in the sector.
This initiative builds on AFD's long-standing engagement in Pakistan. Since 2006, AFD has financed projects in clean energy, urban mobility through enhanced public transport, and urban water and wastewater services. A total of €1.34 billion has been committed by AFD between 2006 and 2024.