LAHORE: The Asian Development Bank has allocated $200 million to provide clean drinking water schemes in Sahiwal City and implementation plan is ready under the aegis of Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Programme.

The local government and community development department officials say the master plan would be prepared for future 25 years to ensure citizens be provided cent per cent clean and hygienic drinking water in different union councils of Sahiwal City.

The officials said the project aimed at working in 12 union councils of Sahiwal, where 400,000 people would be benefitted during the current calendar year and later facilitate some one million people in the coming years.

In order to resolve civic problems being faced by the masses in major cities of the province, the Punjab government would spend $600m and introduce PICIIP in Sahiwal, Sialkot, Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh.

Another LG&CD department official said the PICIIP would support different civic up-gradation programmes in these cities in two phases while in the first phase the programme would support municipal corporations in Sahiwal and Sialkot cities with an allocation of $250m of which ADB would finance $200m, while the Punjab government would provide $50m.

“The PICIIP is aimed at improving the efficiency of municipal corporation by improving the services of water supply, sanitation, sewerage treatment, solid waste management, transport infrastructure,” the official said and added that the services would contribute towards enhancing the economic activities and strengthen business process with improved community health and better quality of life of the residents of Sahiwal and Sialkot cities.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2019