The Earth-quake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) has received ISO 9001 2008 certificate from United Kingdom for its services in rehabilitation and reconstruction of the October 2005 earthquake-hit areas. The ISO 9001 certificate awarding ceremony was held here on Tuesday and attended by top ERRA officials including Chairman ERRA Hamid Yar Hiraj and Deputy Chairman Brigadier Masood Ahmed (Retd).
Addressing the ceremony, Chairman Erra Hamid Yar Hiraj said that due to excellent services provided by the authority to the earthquake affected people through quality management systems and requirements, the authority received ISO 9001-2008 certificate, which is a landmark for any public sector organisation.
"ISO Certification validates services provided by Erra for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of earthquake affected areas satisfies the international standards, and signing the ERRA Bill by President Asif Ali Zardari would give new life to the authority," Hiraj added. Hamid Yar Hiraj was officially handed over the ISO certificate during the ceremony.
He said that donors have shown complete confidence in Erra and with USAID, Japan and Saudi Arabia fully supporting Erra; soon Erra would be taking national level responsibility. He said that Japan was going to start two projects in earthquake-hit areas and Saudi Arabia would also provide funds for the completion of many projects in earthquake-hit areas.
He further said that King Abdullah University campuses of Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad would soon be inaugurated. "The ISO certification will not only enhance donor confidence, but is also an indication of Erra's open and transparent accountability measures," he said, adding that reconstruction of new Balakot City is a priority, and after taking provincial government on board the work on new Balakot is going to resume with a revised design. Erra rural housing project reaching a success rate of over 98 per cent with 100 per cent projects of Water and Sanitation completed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and over 80 per cent in AJK.