On Monday, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed that a $554 million financing package, including new and reallocated funds, had been approved to support Pakistan’s recovery and reconstruction efforts in the wake of devastating floods and to increase the nation’s resilience to natural disasters and climate change.
The funding, which comes in the form of a $475 million loan from the ADB, a $3 million grant for technical assistance, and a $5 million grant from the Japanese government, will help rebuild the irrigation, drainage, flood risk management, on-farm water management, and transportation infrastructure in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh, according to a press release.
“The Emergency Flood Assistance Project of the ADB will also include climate and disaster resilience measures in the infrastructure design. To aid the government’s flood response efforts, ADB has repurposed an additional $71 million from existing loans, it said.
Yevgeniy Zhukov, director general of ADB Central and West Asia, said the floods served as a “devastating reminder” of Pakistan’s extreme climatic vulnerability.
Zhukov stated that “this project would assist reconstruct essential infrastructure in devastated areas and restore rural livelihoods.”
The disastrous flooding was followed by unheard-of heatwaves in Pakistan from April through June, according to the ADB.
The government and development partners, including ADB, undertook a post-disaster needs assessment, which determined that $16.3 billion would be required for recovery and reconstruction and that overall damage and losses would exceed $30 billion.
“The loan will be used to rehabilitate around 400 kilometres of highways, 85 kilometres of the N-5, the busiest national route in the nation, and about 30 bridges. Additionally, it will help to upgrade and repair irrigation and drainage systems, such as canals and on-farm water facilities, in order to restore livelihoods. Additionally, it will strengthen flood risk management systems in order to reduce future risks to agricultural land, communities, and assets.
According to Zheng Wu, the ADB’s Principal Transport Specialist, the effects of the floods will cause an increase in food insecurity as well as a loss in income for the populace.
“This project will give vital support to rebuild agriculture and other priority infrastructure to support socioeconomic recovery from floods,” he declared. “In close coordination with the government and other development partners.”
The $5 million grant, which was provided by the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, will support the cultivation of staple crops in Balochistan and provide at least 60,000 farm households with higher-quality, certified rice seeds to boost productivity over 54,000 hectares of land. In addition, through giving farming tools, the award will help women’s agricultural livelihoods.
The $3 million technical assistance award will help with project implementation and investment planning for a subsequent flood risk management expenditure.