ISLAMABAD: With financial assistance from the World Bank, the government has authorized 2 projects totaling Rs. 248 billion for post-flood rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sindh and Balochistan.
The World Bank will provide a $400 million loan to fund the Rs88 billion “Post-flood Reconstruction Project.”
Besides, the bank will also give the Rs. 160 billion Flood Response Emergency Housing Project in Sindh another out of about Rs110 billion.
The remaining Rs. 50 billion would be raised by the provincial government via its means.
The loss of Balochistan was assessed at $2.345 billion and Sindh’s at $7.9 billion out of the total $16.3 billion needed for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Based on a Post-Disaster Need Assessment completed by international aid organizations, the Rs. 160 billion Flood Response Emergency Housing Project in Sindh would be carried out through a newly formed company.
The initiative will provide financial help for 100,000 partially damaged houses and 465,228 destroyed ones, as well as for the expenditures of non-governmental organizations and consulting fees.
The government’s Urban Unit selected several teams to perform a survey, and the results of those surveys have been used to create district-by-district lists of damaged, entirely, or partially destroyed residences.
The Sindh government has cut the contingency spending from 2% of the project’s cost (about Rs3.2 billion) to 1% (Rs1.6 billion), with the remaining money going toward repairing destroyed houses in response to the Planning Commission’s concerns.
To increase resilience, irrigation and flood protection infrastructure in the province’s disaster-affected districts will be renovated using the “build back better” philosophy.
The project also included capacity building, modernization of hydrometer (weather and flood) systems, and enhancing early warning systems.
Besides, homeowners will get financial incentives for future repair or rebuilding once a spatial planning assessment is carried out to verify that reconstruction locations are flood-resistant.
According to the project’s specifications, housing assistance will be provided for the construction of a 250-square-foot unit that is multi-hazard resilient, has a water collecting system, twin pit latrines, and a solar system.
Furthermore, a thorough implementation plan will be unveiled, including cash-for-work initiatives for young people, the underprivileged, and women, as well as grants for farmers.
