ADB approves $400mn concessional loan for Sindh Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a $400-million concessional loan for Pakistan to support the reconstruction of houses and community infrastructure in Sindh province, which were damaged by the devastating floods in 2022.

As per a statement released by ADB, the loan will be utilised for the Sindh Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project, which “will rehabilitate flood-damaged houses and community infrastructure and support livelihood recovery, with a focus on strengthening communities’ resilience against climate change-induced natural hazards”.

The ADB said the project is key part of its multifaceted response to Pakistan’s flood crisis and forms part of the bank’s commitment to provide $1.5 billion in total assistance from 2023 to 2025.

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“This project will help rebuild homes and communities, and restore livelihood and basic services in Sindh, the province most affected by the devastating 2022 floods,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.

“It is part of ADB’s extensive support to help Pakistan recover from the disaster which affected 33 million people and damaged houses and infrastructure across the nation.”

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Sindh sustained about 83% of the total housing damage inflicted by the 2022 floods, with around 2.1 million houses either fully destroyed or damaged, read the statement.

Two years on, many victims still reside in inadequate, temporary shelters lacking essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity, the ADB added.

The Manila-based agency said the project will support conditional cash grants for the reconstruction of 250,000 houses with multi-hazard resilient and environment-responsive designs.

“It will also support community-driven construction of infrastructure such as drinking water facilities, sanitation facilities, covered drainage, and renewable energy solutions for 100,000 households in around 1,000 flood-damaged villages in Sindh.

“The project will also support conditional cash grants for livestock, agriculture, small enterprises, and e-commerce,” it added.

The lender was of the view that the project supports the government’s resilient rehabilitation, reconstruction, and recovery strategy (4RF) and will follow an integrated and sequential approach so that investments across sectors complement each other.

“A $500,000 technical assistance grant will further support the government’s operational capabilities in procurement, safeguard compliance, and technical and financial management,” it said.

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“ADB’s support will not only help Pakistan build back better, but it will also promote community-led climate resilience and disaster risk management strategies to better prepare for future hazards,” said ADB Director for Water and Urban Development Srinivas Sampath.

“We are coordinating closely with other development partners to support the government’s recovery and reconstruction priorities.”