HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania state government’s unprecedented takeover of its capital is scheduled to end Saturday, after more than two years and hundreds of millions of dollars in deals designed to rescue Harrisburg’s finances from a sea of debt.

Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday called it a “significant milestone for Harrisburg” that could end up becoming a template for the state’s efforts to right the finances of other troubled cities. And while Corbett at times downplayed the role of his administration, he also noted how unusual it was in Pennsylvania’s history.

“This wasn’t something that was in the description of what a governor is supposed to do,” Corbett told a news conference at Harrisburg city hall. “We never have done this before.”

City officials said they hoped the state had learned lessons from the experience. Even though many Harrisburg officials objected to the takeover, they ultimately won a better deal for the city after council members rejected earlier state recovery plans that did not require concessions from lenders and would have left the city with significant debts.

“We’re here today because we pushed back,” City Councilman Brad Koplinski said.

All told, the plan will wipe out about $360 million in debt tied to the city’s municipal trash incinerator and another $100 million tied to its parking authority.

For now, the city will remain in the state’s program for distressed cities and there may be a criminal investigation into the financing of the trash incinerator.

On Wednesday, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said the attorney general’s office is undertaking a “comprehensive investigation.” Joe Peters, a spokesman for Attorney General Kathleen Kane, would only say that the office had received a referral of the matter last year from Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico.

The end of the receivership comes after Commonwealth Court Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter signed an order Tuesday approving it.