MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 15: The Community Infrastructure Services Programme, a World Bank-funded project, has formally been launched in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Ms Julie Viloria-Williams, a senior institutional community uplift specialist of the bank, told reporters on Sunday that the $27.8 million plan, aimed at providing basic amenities in the rural and urban areas, had been launched with the help of community.

She said that of the $27.8 million, the World Bank would provide $20 million while the AJK government and the community would contribute $4 million and $3.8 million respectively.

In reply to a question, the WB official said the plan had initially been designed for five years costing $36 million, but “as funds of the International Development Agency ran out, they had to cut its size.”

However, she added, Azad Kashmir could apply for more after two years.

Speaking on the occasion, AJK Local Government and Rural Development Department Secretary Sardar Siddique Khan thanked the WB mission for taking interest in the uplift of Azad Kashmir.