ISLAMABAD: The Japanese government has announced grant assistance worth Rs54 million for the construction of water scheme, water supply scheme and construction of road in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by non-governmental organisations.

The grant contracts for the development projects were signed in Islamabad on Wednesday between Japanese Ambassador Wada Nitsuhiro and representatives of the three nongovernmental organisations. The NGOs which will implement the projects are: Friends Welfare Association; Al Khidmat Foundation Pakistan and Al Mezan Islamic Model Secondary School.

The ‘Friends Welfare Association’ will receive a grant of Rs16.64 million to build a new water scheme in one of the most under-developed areas of Mansehra district. The project will benefit 6,000 people or around 895 households of the area.

The project is related to the provision of clean drinking water to the people of that area by constructing water tanks and establishing water supply lines.

This is expected to free women and children from the labour of fetching water.

The ‘Al-Mezan Islamic Model Secondary School’ will receive grant aid worth Rs17.87 million to build a road with its supporting bridges over a big water channel in Murree which will provide a safe way to the school children to reach their schools.

The project will benefit 2,540 people or around 300 households of the area by providing them a safe access to travel main city, markets and hospitals.

The ‘Al-Khidmat Foundation Pakistan’ will receive grant worth Rs19.5 million to implement a project related to the provision of clean drinking water to the people of an industrial area in Faisalabad.

Seven water filtration plants will be installed in Faisalabad city and Okara city to provide filtered water to about 2,870 people in the vicinity of the plants and protect residents from waterborne diseases.

At the signing ceremony, Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro expressed his expectation that these development projects in cooperation with local communities would have a positive impact on uplifting the living standards of Pakistani people at the grassroots level.

The government of Japan will provide further flexible and timely support to local NGOs through grant assistance to improve the social wellbeing of the people of Pakistan at the grassroots level, he said.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2024