WASHINGTON, Nov 17: In a 124-page assessment report, the World Bank has endorsed Pakistan government’s claim that it needs about $5.2 billion to effectively implement a relief, recovery and reconstruction strategy in the wake of last month’s devastating earthquake.
The Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment report, released by the Asian Development Bank and World Bank here on Thursday, says that at least $3.5 billion was needed for reconstruction of houses, schools, health facilities, roads and other public infrastructure.
A joint ADB and WB team began an assessment survey on October 24 and completed it in a record time of 19 days.
The report estimates that $1.92 would be needed for relief operations, $205 million for death and injury compensation, $301 million for early recovery, $97 million for restoration of livelihood and $3.503 billion for reconstruction, including $450 million for short term reconstruction and $3.053 billion for medium and long term construction.
The assessment, carried out in close coordination with the government, sets out guidelines for a comprehensive recovery approach that will meet the needs of the affected people.
The guidelines call for a common framework to be adopted by organizations and institutions involved to ensure consistency and equity across rehabilitation efforts.
Quoting official figures, the report notes that at least 73,000 people were killed in the NWFP and the AJK, with 3.5 million persons displaced and an estimated 1.6 million persons without adequate food supply.
The World Bank has transferred $200 million to Pakistan from the $470 million announced on October 25. The rest will be available in a week or two.
A senior WB official said the bank would indicate further amounts on November 19. “We stand ready to do as much as needed until the job is done in a manner which does not leave anyone behind. We all need to make sure that the additional burden of this calamity does not hamper the country’s poverty reduction efforts,” the official said.
The assessment puts the total reconstruction cost for the main sectors under: — Social infrastructure: private housing ($1,552 million) health ($303 million) education ($472 million) environment ($151 million) and public administration ($72 million). — Physical infrastructure: transport ($416 million) water supply and sanitation ($32 million) irrigation ($10 million) and energy and fuel ($40 million). — Economic sectors: agriculture and livestock ($300 million) and industry and services ($155 million).
