News
Friday, April 15, 2011
ADB provides $650 million to help rebuild flood-damaged infrastructure* Aid will be used to rebuild damaged national, provincial road networks, irrigation systems, flood protection structures, kick starting economic, livelihood activities
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government on Thursday signed an agreement to invest a loan of $650 million from the ADB in reconstruction of vital infrastructure damaged by last year’s devastating floods.
The financial assistance provided under the ADB Flood Emergency Reconstruction Project (FERP) will go towards rebuilding damaged national and provincial road networks, irrigation systems, and flood protection structures, kick starting economic and livelihood activities.
$600 million of FERP resources come from Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR) with a 32-year term, an eight-year grace period and interest set in accordance with ADB’s LIBOR-based lending facility. Another $50 million will be tapped from ADB’s concessional Asian Development Fund, which will have a repayment term of 40 years, with a 10-year grace period, and interest charges at 1 percent per annum. ADB will also provide a $4 million grant for capacity building technical assistance to strengthen implementation and oversight of the project.
“Rebuilding the roads, irrigation and flood protection structures will help resume economic activities and secure livelihood of farmers, and protect all other facilities from future disasters. This investment is designed not just to rebuild what has been damaged but to build it to better standards,” said ADB Country Director for Pakistan, Rune Stroem.
The FERP will reconstruct 793 kilometres of national highways and bridges and 800 km of provincial road networks to multiple hazard resistant standards. The project will improve 1.5 million hector of agriculture land by restoring and strengthening flood protection embankment, rehabilitating canals and other allied infrastructure.
These investments will re-establish inter-regional connectivity, access to markets, and will boost the reconstruction and livelihood restoration processes in the affected areas.
“In view of the scale of destruction and corresponding difficulties people have been facing, the rebuilding tasks have got to be accomplished as early as possible. We look forward to work closely with the Pakistan government and provincial agencies for a speedy and effective implementation of the project, ensuring the earliest recovery for millions of affected people,” Stroem added.
In addition, ADB as a part of its overall post-flood support increased the trade finance facility to Pakistan by $500 million, providing extra cover to emergency imports and exports during the reconstruction period.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk