The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Monday that a $554 million financing package, including new and reallocated funds, had been approved to support recovery and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan following in the aftermath of devastating floods, and to strengthen the country’s disaster and climate resilience.

“The financing, which includes a $475m loan and a $3m technical assistance grant from the ADB, and a $5m grant from the government of Japan, will support the restoration of irrigation, drainage, flood risk management, on-farm water management, and transport infrastructure in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh,” the press release said.

“The ADB’s Emergency Flood Assistance Project will also incorporate climate and disaster resilience measures into the design of the infrastructure. ADB has repurposed an additional $71 million from existing loans to support the government’s flood-response efforts,” it added.

ADB Central and West Asia Director General Yevgeniy Zhukov said the floods were a “devastating reminder” of Pakistan’s acute vulnerability to climate change.

“This project will help to rebuild critical infrastructure in affected areas and restore rural livelihoods,” Zhukov said.

The ADB noted that Pakistan suffered unprecedented heatwaves from April to June, followed by the catastrophic flooding.

A post-disaster needs assessment conducted by the government and development partners, including ADB, estimated total damage and losses at more than $30 billion and recovery and reconstruction needs at $16.3bn, it said.

“The loan will reconstruct about 400km of roads; about 85 km of the N-5, the country’s busiest national highway; and about 30 bridges. It will also help to restore and upgrade irrigation and drainage structures including canals and on-farm water facilities to restore livelihoods, and strengthen flood risk management structures to mitigate future risks to agricultural land, communities, and assets,” the press release said.

ADB Principal Transport Specialist Zheng Wu said that citizens were expected to fall into poverty in the aftermath of the floods while food insecurity would also increase.

“In close coordination with the government and other development partners, this project will provide crucial support to restore agriculture and other priority infrastructure to support socioeconomic recovery from floods,” he said.

Funded through the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, the $5m grant will support staple crop cultivation in Balochistan and provide at least 60,000 farm households with higher quality, certified rice seeds for increased productivity over 54,000 hectares of land. The grant will also support women’s livelihoods in agriculture by providing farming equipment.

The $3m technical assistance grant will support the implementation of the project and the preparation of an ensuing flood risk management investment.

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

From hero to zero

From hero to zero

The infighting as the country tumbles from regime to regime and from set-up to set-up is so great that it infects everything around it.

Editorial

Relying on debt
Updated 03 Oct, 2023

Relying on debt

Sadly, the ruling military and civil elite haven’t grasped the seriousness of the economic crises.
Palestine abandoned
03 Oct, 2023

Palestine abandoned

IT appears to be only a matter of time before a normalisation deal is announced between Saudi Arabia and Israel....
Killjoys in Swat
03 Oct, 2023

Killjoys in Swat

IN yet another blow to women’s rights in Pakistan, a group of young, spirited girls seeking to participate in a...
Faizabad redux
Updated 02 Oct, 2023

Faizabad redux

TLP was allowed to flourish despite its virulent ideology, recurrently causing immense embarrassment for Pakistani authorities in later years.
Exporting beggars
02 Oct, 2023

Exporting beggars

A RECENT revelation by the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis during a briefing to the Senate has...
Brutalising society
02 Oct, 2023

Brutalising society

THE Senate Standing Committee on Interior passed a bill last week with a majority vote that favoured the public...