KARACHI, June 23: The World Bank will provide a funding of $13.5 million for a project aimed at supporting vulnerable communities living along the coastal areas of Sindh, it is officially learnt. Being launched in collaboration with the Coastal Development Authority, the project will cover between 1.75 million and two million households existing along the coastline comprising eight talukas of Thatta and Badin districts. It will focus on addressing certain constraints and help improve the standard of life of the people belonging to the communities.

The project will have three major components and for each of them a certain amount of funds will be provided. It is learnt that $10 million has been earmarked for community investment fund (CIF), $2 million for mangroves rehabilitation and ecosystem management and $1.5 million for project management, monitoring and evaluation.

According to sources, a meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Ghulam Sarwar Khero was held on June 22 to discuss the World Bank’s socio-economic study report on the coastal areas of Sindh. It was a follow-up of an earlier meeting, held on May 31, which had also discussed the report.

The study examined the socio-economic conditions of various fishermen communities residing in the coastal areas, and identified the constraints that needed to be addressed on a short term basis.

The June 22 meeting was informed by the CDA that the CIF support programme would focus on mobilization of community organization; advisory services in saline agriculture; social services pertaining to construction of primary schools and health centres; provision of equipment and furniture; reconstruction of the houses destroyed by cyclone; water supply, sanitation and community based fishery management; support for coastal aquaculture and construction of jetties and wharfs; provision of fishing boats and improvement in fish landing; support for improvement in marketing and processing of sea resources; rural roads facilities and electrification (including windmill and solar hybrid system); etc.

The meeting decided to inform the Economic Affairs Division that the Sindh government agreed to the disbursement of a loan up to $7 million by the World Bank which the bank would take out from the on-farm water management programme and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.

It was also decided to establish a strong ‘project monitoring unit’ in the CDA with Mr Munawwar Opel, Director-General of the Authority, being its head.