ISLAMABAD: The government has approved two projects worth Rs248 billion for post-flood rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sindh and Balochistan with the financial support of the World Bank.

The ‘Post-flood Reconstruction Project’, costing Rs88bn, would be fully funded by the World Bank with a $400 million loan. The bank would also provide another $500m (around Rs110bn) loan for the Rs160bn Flood Response Emergency Housing Project in Sindh. The provincial government would arrange the remaining Rs50bn from its own resources.

The two projects will be implemented in Balochistan and Sindh, the two most devastated provinces after the floods. Of the total $16.3bn required for rehabilitation and reconstruction, Balochistan’s need was estimated at $2.345bn and that of Sindh at $7.9bn.

The Rs160bn Flood Response Emergency Housing Project in Sindh is based on Post-Disaster Need Assessment finalised by international aid agencies and would be executed through a newly incorporated firm Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees for the rehabilitation of damaged and destroyed houses in 24 districts of the province.

The project will extend financial assistance to 465,228 fully damaged houses and 100,000 partially damaged houses, including the provision of supportive infrastructure, costs of the non-governmental organisations and consultancy charges.

The district-wise lists of damaged fully or partially damaged houses have been finalised through a survey conducted by various teams appointed by the Urban Unit of the Sindh government.

On the Planning Commission’s concerns, the Sindh government has reduced the contingency expenditure from 2pc of the project’s cost (around Rs3.2bn) to 1pc (Rs1.6bn) with the re­­m­­aining amount to be diverted tow­ards rebuilding fully damaged houses.

The project would be implemented with the support of the World Bank, other implementation partners and NGOs.

A similar Rs88bn project for Balochistan would be fully financed by the $400 million World Bank’s loan. However, it involved resilience enhancement and livelihood diversification initiatives as well.

Irrigation and flood protection infrastructure in the provinces’ calamity-hit districts will be rehabilitated on the ‘build back better’ model with improved engineering design for greater resilience.

The project also involved strengthening early warning systems, capacity building and modernisation of hydrometer (weather and flood) systems.

A spatial planning survey will be conducted to ensure that reconstruction sites are flood-resilient and homeowners will be given cash grants for future repair or reconstruction.

According to the project’s details, it will include a housing subsidy for constructing a 250sq feet unit built to multi-hazard resilient standards and equipped with a water collection system, twin pit latrines and solar system.

Another component of the project related to livelihood support will promote natural resources, agriculture, livestock and fisheries across priority watersheds and help build resilience against flash floods through check dams, gabion structures, and contour bunds and support groundwater recharge and water storage.

A detailed mechanism to implement and sustain these interventions will be rolled out, entailing cash-for-work programmes for youth, the poor and women with matching grants for farmers as well.

All proposals, schemes and activities under the project would be approved by a steering committee led jointly by the federal minister for planning and the respective provincial chief minister through annual work plans before the disbursement of funds and a third-party verification/validation mechanism on a spot basis through GIS would be a compulsory element of the project.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2023