PM directs ERRA to expedite reconstruction projects

16 years on, construction work in quake-hit areas progresses at snail’s pace

ISLAMABAD:

 

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday directed the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to expedite the pace of the ongoing projects to facilitate the public.

He issued these directives while chairing a meeting to review the authority's ongoing projects related to reconstruction and development in the calamity-hit areas.

The premier was apprised that since its inception in 2006, ERRA had so far completed 75 per cent of its total development portfolios of 14,704 projects, whereas 14 per cent were currently under construction.

وزیر اعظم عمران خان نے ERRA کے جاری تعمیر نو اور ترقیاتی منصوبوں کا جائزہ لینے کے لئے ایک اجلاس کی صدارت کی۔ اجلاس میں بتایا گیاکہ 2006 میں اپنے قیام کے بعد سے اب تک ERRA نے اپنے 14،704 منصوبوں کے ترقیاتی پورٹ فولیو کا 75٪ مکمل کرلیا ہے، جبکہ ان میں سے 14٪ زیر تعمیر ہیں۔ pic.twitter.com/SPXZpw9xFA

— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) July 10, 2021

The premier was also informed that currently, 885 projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 1,214 projects in Azad Jammu and Kashmir were under way.

The meeting reviewed the reconstruction and development plans of the quake-hit areas. The prime minister was also briefed on the construction of New Balakot City.

The meeting was informed that ERRA had completed 75% of its 14,714 projects since 2006 while 14% of development projects are still under construction.

Earlier, it was reported that ERRA would be subsumed into the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

'Sluggish progress'

Nearly 16 years have passed since the devastating earthquake hit Azad Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but the construction work in the quake-hit areas seems to progress at a snail’s process.

The ERRA had set a target of completing a total of 14,704 construction projects for rehabilitation and reconstruction. However, thus far, only 10,978 projects could be finished, falling short of the earlier commitments of the authority.

The records paint a grim picture of progress made in major development projects hobbled by mismanagement.

According to EERA records, construction operations are stated to have been afoot in 2,099 projects but only a meagre amount of 1628 reconstruction projects could be set in motion.

Read Explainer: All you need to know about earthquakes

The authority has completed 3,530 projects out of 5,722 projects aimed at restoring the education sector in earthquake-affected areas, 944 projects are under construction while work on 1,248 projects has not started yet.

Out of 320 health projects, 241 have been completed, 36 are under construction while work on 43 has not started.

The records reveal that out of the 466 environmental projects undertaken by the authority, 291 have been completed; work on 161 is under way, while 14 have not been started.

Besides, the authority had announced a total of 33 town planning projects, out of which only 31 projects have been completed, while two are under construction.

Meanwhile, the projects pertaining to social security, seven out of 15 social security projects are said to be completed, two remain under construction while the rest of the six still await materialisation.

The records further state that the authority had dedicated 301 projects to overhaul the uprooted transportation system in the quake-hit areas. However, it added, only 262 have been completed, 33 are under construction and six projects have yet to be started.

With regards to water and sewerage projects, the authority could finish 4,587 out of 4,744 projects. One hundred and twenty-eight are under construction and 29 have not started yet.