The Asian Development Bank has sanctioned a $554 million financing package, including new and reallocated funds, to support Pakistan’s recovery and reconstruction efforts in the wake of devastating floods and to strengthen the country’s disaster and climate resilience.
The financing, which includes a $475 million loan and a $3 million technical assistance grant from the ADB, and a $5 million grant from the Government of Japan, will support the restoration of irrigation, drainage, flood risk management, on-farm water management, and transport infrastructure in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh, according to an ADB statement.
The ADB’s Emergency Flood Assistance Project will also incorporate climate and disaster resilience measures into the design of the infrastructure. The lender has repurposed an additional $71 million from existing loans to support the government’s flood-response efforts.
“This year’s floods, which affected 33 million people and brought enormous damage to infrastructure and agriculture, are a devastating reminder of Pakistan’s acute vulnerability to climate change,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “This project will help to rebuild critical infrastructure in affected areas and restore rural livelihoods.”
