Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Pakistan have signed five agreements under which the ADB will provide USD 775 million to support government’s efforts at reconstruction and rehabilitation of the flood-affected regions. The signed agreements also make provisions for training workers in the Punjab province to help people with livelihood efforts.

The signing ceremony of the five contracts between the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and the ADB was overseen by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. Secretary EAD, Dr Kazim Niaz, and Deputy Country Director ADB, Asad Aleem represented their respective organizations.

According to the agreements signed, ADB will finance the reconstruction of irrigation and drainage structures, flood risk and on-farm water management, improvement of power and transport infrastructure, and training of skilled workers in the Punjab province. ADB will provide the government with USD 475 million under the ‘Emergency Flood Assistance Project’ at a concessionary interest rate of 1%, while the time frame for the repayment of loan has been set at 40 years.

In addition, USD 189 million will be provided to the government under the ‘Second Power Transmission Enhancement Investment Program’ to restore the power infrastructure in the flood-hit regions. Similarly, USD 100 million will be provided for establishing and upgrading 4 Centers of Excellence to train 96,000 people, including 29,000 women in priority economic sectors of Light Engineering, Textile and Garments, Food Processing, Information Communications Technology, Tourism and Hospitality, Automobile/Motorbike Assembly, Parts and Repair, and Health and Construction, across the Punjab province.

In the same vein, ADB will also provide USD 3.6 million for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Water Resources Development Project and USD 5 million for Naulong Dam Project. Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq expressed his deepest gratitude to the ADB for its help, adding that ADB was doing appreciable work in developing TVET institutional framework and water resources in the country. He said that government will arrange for other financing facilities from other multilateral bodies to expedite the reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the flood-hit regions.

ADB’s Director General for Central and West Asia Department, Eugene Zhukov, said that the Bank was committed to helping the people of Pakistan in their difficult times. He said that the Bank had already extended help worth USD 2.67 billion to the country in 2022 alone. “The ADB stands committed to supporting Pakistan for a green, resilient and sustainable recovery,” he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk