PESHAWAR, March 15: The NWFP government and communities concerned would jointly contribute over Rs940 million to the second phase of the foreign-funded community infrastructure project.

The project, covering all 24 districts and 61 town municipal administrations of the Frontier province, was supposed to be launched in July 2003 but its implementation is likely to take some more time as certain procedural requirements remain unfulfilled.

The project was approved by the provincial development working party on Dec 27, 2003 and by the central development working party on Jan 24, 2004 and its approval by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council is still pending.

However, details of foreign assistance to be extended by the World Bank are yet to be finalized. A delegation of World Bank, sources said, would visit Peshawar soon to discuss issues relating to funding for the CIP- II project and the Structural Adjustment Credit under which the Bank is financing NWFP's three-year provincial reforms programme.

Sources said that the Bank had already intimated its intentions to the government viz-a-viz extending financial assistance to help the NWFP to execute CIP-II - a multi-sectoral project under which infrastructure facilities would be improved with active participation and financial support by communities at the grassroot level.

The total size of the CIP-II has been estimated at Rs3.1 billion of which an amount of Rs 2.15 billion would be provided as loan by the World Bank, while an amount of Rs940 million would jointly be contributed by the provincial government and communities concerned as counterpart funding.

"There are greater chances that the lending agency would approve loan for the CIP-II in April," said a provincial government official. About 580 sites would be selected for executing CIP-II schemes, covering all the 61 town municipal administrations (TMAs), to improve infrastructure facilities at the grass roots level.

Thousands of schemes belonging to the water supply and sanitation sector, roads and streets sector and safe disposal of solid waster would be executed under the CIP-II which is to be completed in six years.

Local communities would be organized to establish citizen community boards and they along with TMAs would be imparted training to help improve their capacity and skills to play a productive role in formulating plans and executing development schemes at the grass roots level.

The project, according to sources, involves two forms of development works, i.e. community works and primary works. The government and the lending agency would arrange 100 per cent of the estimated cost involved in executing a development scheme of primary work with 30 per cent of the total cost to be contributed by the provincial government and remaining by the lending agency.

While, in the case of executing 'community works' 70 per cent of the total cost would be provided by the lending agency, 10 per cent by the TMA concerned and remaining 20 per cent of the cost would have to be contributed - in the form of land for executing the scheme - by the community of the concerned.

Sources said that the authorities concerned had laid down a criteria for selecting a site to execute development schemes involving primary works and provide funds to the community for implementing schemes of community works.