ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: The Asian Development Bank has approved a technical assistance grant of $465,000 to strengthen key institutions involved in the development of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The assistance will strengthen key agencies working in Fata in the planning, design, monitoring and evaluation of rural development projects, ahead of a $40 million rural development project in the ADB's pipeline for 2004.

The government estimates that up to 60 per cent of Fata households live below the poverty line. The region has a literacy rate of 17.4 per cent and a primary school attendance rate of 41.3 per cent, while the national rates are 45 per cent and 77 per cent, respectively.

Only 44 per cent of the population has access to clean drinking water, as compared to 75 per cent for the NWFP. "Following discussions with key officials, it was determined that the assistance should address weaknesses in planning, implementation, budgeting and monitoring," said the ADB's Senior Rural Development Specialist Donneth A. Walton, the mission leader for the assistance.

"The assistance will also strengthen technical skills and handling of information and communication technology," the ADB official said. The planning and development, finance, livestock and dairy development, agriculture extension, local government and rural development, forestry and works and services departments are included in the plan.

The assistance is expected to boost the skills of professional staff responsible for development in Fata. The cost of the project is estimated at $605,000. The government will contribute $150,000.

The NWFP governor's Fata secretariat will be the executing agency of the programme, which will be carried out over about 18 months till September, 2005.