ISLAMABAD, April 6: The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) will launch two major projects of rural housing and livelihood on Friday (today) as part of a $280 million programme, its deputy chairman Maj-Gen Nadeem Ahmad said here.

The projects signal the “beginning of the reconstruction process in two of the worst-affected districts of Muzaffarabad and Mansehra”, Maj-Gen Ahmad told a select group of journalists.

According to him, the reconstruction of over 800,000 houses will cost $2.4 billion. He said the authority believed that most of the houses would be completed this year, but stressed that every thing still depended on the circumstances.

He said the livelihood programme would cost $85 million and vulnerable groups would be eligible for a two-month installment at once.

He said that each family would continue to receive Rs3,000 per month for a minimum of six months and added that efforts were on to increase the time to one year and the amount to Rs6,000 per month.