Costing Rs37 billion: Govt approves disaster prevention projects

Two of the four schemes have been sent to Ecnec for final decision

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has given the go-ahead to four development schemes costing Rs37 billion to enhance the country’s defence against floods and other natural disasters.

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which is headed by the planning and development minister and has the mandate to approve up to Rs3-billion projects, cleared seven projects worth Rs57.5 billion on Tuesday. The schemes above this budgetary threshold are recommended for approval to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec).

Two of the four disaster management projects are in Punjab and the other two in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) – both the regions were the worst affected during the 2014 floods. After the CDWP’s approval, two of these schemes worth over Rs3 billion will be taken up by Ecnec for the final nod.



In 2014, widespread floods affected 2.5 million people and one million acres of crops in 45 districts of Punjab, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and G-B. The government then chalked out a plan in partnership with the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for responding to natural disasters.

The first scheme sent to Ecnec relates to an umbrella project “Disaster and Climate Resilience Improvement Project” in Punjab with a total cost of Rs10.2 billion, which will be funded by the WB and completed in four years. The project aims at controlling floodwater flows and path of river waterways within river boundaries as well as upgrading irrigated lands and existing infrastructure in the riverine areas.

The second one is the Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project in Punjab which relates to rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-damaged roads and bridges in Punjab. The project cost is estimated at Rs17.7 billion and it will be completed in three years. The Punjab government will pay Rs1.8 billion while the remaining Rs15.9 billion will be provided by the ADB as a loan.

The CDWP also approved the Rs6.6-billion Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project in AJK that envisages renovation of 234 kilometres of damaged roads in various districts. The project will be funded by the ADB and the federal government.

Another project approved was the Rs2.5-billion Disaster and Climate Resilience Improvement Project in AJK. The scheme fully funded by the WB relates to building capacity of AJK in disaster prevention and climate change.

The construction of Basool Dam in Balochistan at a cost of Rs9.6 billion was also cleared. The project site is located 54km north-west of Ormara Town in Gwadar. The dam will provide irrigation water to an area of 4,712 hectares through an efficient pipeline system.

The construction of Shadi Kaur Storage Dam and Appurtenant Works was cleared. The project costing Rs7.9 billion will provide 70.28 cusecs of water to irrigate 7,600 acres of agriculture land. It will also provide drinking water to 15,000 people of Pasni and its surrounding areas.

The CDWP also approved the construction of an access road from the Makran Coastal Highway to the Gwadar airport. The total cost of the project is Rs503 million, which will be financed by the federal government. The road will be constructed in 18 months.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2015.