News
Friday, November 11, 2011
President gives one week to complete projects in Sindh* Zardari says government prioritising rehabilitation of road networks
* Directs launching of Rabi Assistance Plan
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday directed that infrastructure projects related to irrigation and roads approved by the Sindh government be finalised by the Planning Commission in one week and the work completed within one year.
Chairing a high-level meeting here at Bilawal House on rebuilding of damaged infrastructure, the president advised the government to set up an infrastructure bank to finance infrastructure projects and invite private entrepreneurs to rebuild roads, bridges, rail tracks and other infrastructure projects on a Build, Operate and Own (BOO) basis.
The president also advised the Sindh government that a 35 million dollar loan offered by the Exim Bank of China should be utilised for reconstruction of road links connecting three major cities of Sindh, including Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad), Sanghar and Mirpurkhas, while the provincial government should also fund the Qazi Ahmed Nawabshah sector by providing around Rs 330 million.
Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that during the presentation on the rehabilitation of infrastructure, President Asif Ali Zardari said that in the wake of unprecedented losses caused by recent rains to the infrastructure of the province, the government was tapping into all possible resources for rehabilitation.
The president said that the government was prioritising the rehabilitation and reconstruction of road networks since it wanted to increase road density in the country.
Zardari observed that the rehabilitation of thousands of kilometres of national and provincial roads, repairing huge damages to the railway track and breaches and overflows in protective bunds of the canals was a huge challenge.
He said that Pakistan looked towards its friends for assistance in rehabilitation efforts so that the affected people could take a fresh start following the devastation caused by the natural calamity.
The meeting was informed that the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) system had been damaged at various locations and that, having been designed for 3,500-4,000 cusecs, it was now discharging more than 14,000 cusecs.
In another meeting held in the Bilawal House to discuss the facilitation of the Rabi crop in flood-affected areas, President Asif Ali Zardari directed that the Rabi Assistance Plan be launched without any further delay in the rain-affected areas of Sindh and that availability of seeds to farmers be ensured so that the Rabi crop be sowed in lower and upper Sindh in time.
Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that during the meeting, the president was informed that during the recent heavy rains, crop areas of 2.166 million acres had been damaged and a loss of Rs 218 billion had been sustained by the agriculture sector.
President Asif Ali Zardari was also informed about the existing arrangements made by the Sindh Agriculture Department for the distribution of seeds to affected farmers.
The Sindh Agriculture Department proposed that a package of Rs 4.4 billion equally footed by the federal and provincial governments be given to the farmers in flood and rain affected districts. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk