RAWALPINDI, March 28: A new Project Management Unit (PMU) would be established for the implementation of Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP), sources told Dawn on Sunday.

The new unit, they said, would be headed by the project director whose office would be located at the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA)'s building at Liaquat Bagh. The unit would comprise professional staff supported by a team of consultants and officials of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), RDA and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa).

The team would provide help to the unit on policy guidelines and implementation of the project components besides supporting monitoring and evaluation. Moreover, the TMA will associate its solid waste management unit with the PMU to execute the solid waste management and slaughterhouse related components of the project.

For internal coordination, two committees namely the Project Implementation Review Committee (PIRC) and Project Steering Committee (PSC) would be formed. The PIRC would be formed at Tehsil level and would include officials of TMA, RDA and Wasa along with councillors and conveners of citizen community board (CCB). The PIRC would be headed by the Tehsil Nazim.

The PSC would be headed by the chairman Planning and Development Board. The committee would comprise senior officers from the planning and development department, finance department of government of Punjab, RDA and the district and Tehsil Nazims.

The committee would be based in Lahore and would ensure an orderly implementation of the project besides providing policy guidance on the ongoing and new government initiatives and resolving inter-agencies problems.

Before the implementation period, the Punjab government would establish a bank account in the name of TMA for receiving ADB's funds for the project. "The account will consist of advances based on estimates of the anticipated expenditure to be incurred for a six-month period or 10 per cent of the bank-approved loan for the project". The TMA will coordinate the timely release of funds.