Economic calamity: Dams needed to reduce annual losses

ICCI chief says flash floods have been a common occurrence

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has called upon the government to focus on the construction of dams, especially in flood-prone areas that will help in coping with flash floods and generating cheap energy.

ICCI President Muzzamil Hussain Sabri said that devastating floods have highlighted the urgent need of constructing more dams and water reservoirs in the country. He said that due to lack of dams and water reservoirs, Pakistan has suffered huge losses in terms of damage to infrastructure and destruction of of crops.

Sabri said the 2010 floods alone had cost the economy around $10 billion and displaced 20 million people while this year’s floods are estimated to cause significant cut in development budget to cope with the flood situation.



“The World Bank has also estimated Pakistan’s economic losses in excess of $18 billion because of natural disasters in the last one decade. Another study shows that Pakistan’s economy is facing an annual loss of $36 billion due to water wastage.”

According to Sabri, climate change and global warming have accelerated the pace of melting glaciers causing heavy rains in monsoon due to which the flood pattern in Pakistan has become every year’s phenomenon.

“However, it is unfortunate that our successive governments have not paid due attention to this serious issue.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th,  2015.

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