Reconstruction work: AJK govt racing against time to complete urban projects

DG says soft loan programme from China will end in Dec

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is in a race against time to complete reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in urban areas of the valley by the end of the year.

A deadline for projects under the Urban Development Programme coincides with a date for the $300 million soft loan provided by China which expires on December 31, 2016.

Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (ERRA),  Director General Brigadier Syed Fayaz Hussain,  told the prime minister of AJK Raja Farooq Haider , on Friday that they were working on  117 projects in three cities under the programme including in Bagh, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad.

Of these projects, Brig Hussain said they had so far completed 84 projects, while 21 are in progress. .



“Around 12 main projects listed in the programme would be completed by December 13 this year,” said ERRA DG Brigadier Hussain.

China had provided $300 million under the soft loan project while the government of Pakistan provided 15 per cent as counterpart funding to complete these projects.

In the earthquake-hit areas of AJK, around 7,743 construction  projects had been taken up of which  5,237 projects have been completed while 1,595 are under construction. However, ERRA has yet to start work on around 659 projects.

Besides others the briefing on reconstruction and rehabilitation in earthquake-hit areas was also attended by Chairman ERRA Major General Asghar Nawaz, Minister Muzaffarabad City Development Project (MCDP) Barrister Iftikhar Gillani, Information Minister Mushtaq Minhas, Chief Secretary Sakindar Sultan Raja and other AJK government secretaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2016.