ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s planning ministry said on Sunday it had approved 21 development projects worth $3 billion for the country’s flood-hit areas, as it attempts to reconstruct thousands of homes and rehabilitate people in large numbers affected by last year’s cataclysmic disaster.
Unusually heavy monsoon rains in June 2022 killed over 1,700 people, destroying thousands of acres of crops and displacing millions in many parts of the country. Pakistan estimated damages from the floods to be around $30 billion.
Following the devastation, Pakistan’s planning ministry devised a comprehensive 4RF (Resilient, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction) framework for effective coordination and participation among federal and provincial governments, development partners, donors, and international and national NGOs.
“The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) successfully approved 21 development projects worth $3 billion for flood-affected areas of Pakistan while securing maximum pledges committed in Geneva for flood 2022,” the planning ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said these projects are being “successfully executed” by the provincial governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. It added that the projects are funded by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.
“Sindh and Balochistan were the most affected provinces in the floods of 2022,” the ministry said.
The ministry said a dashboard to ensure real-time monitoring and provide information to the masses and development partners about the execution of the development projects would be operationalized by Nov. 10.
Pakistan obtained aid pledges worth $10 billion from multilateral and bilateral donors during a conference in Geneva this year for flood-relief activities and projects.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said in September Pakistan is striving to get donors to release $10 billion in pledges to help it recover from the devastating floods and launch rebuilding projects that hinge on the funding.
Such funding is crucial for cash-strapped Pakistan but the government says it has not arrived, amid growing concerns about its future debt obligations.
