PESHAWAR, Feb 21: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved work plans worth Rs9 billion for rehabilitation and reconstruction of public infrastructure damaged in the last year floods, officials say.

“These projects to be executed in irrigation, health and education sectors are part of total Rs39 billion worth work plans, the government has so far been able to formulate as a first priority schemes,” an official at planning and development department said.

A Damage and Need Assessment (DNA), conducted jointly by World Bank and Asian Development Bank in Nov last year, had put the total loss of public infrastructure at Rs99 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the Rs200 billion as claimed by the provincial government.

The official said that on the basis of the assessment, planning and development department, the focal agency for reconstruction, had prepared work plans in different sectors and so far projects worth Rs39 billion had been worked out while schemes with an estimated outlay of Rs9 billion were ready for implementation.

“Execution of these schemes depends on availability of resources, the moment line agencies are given funds, work will start automatically,” he said, adding apart from provincial own resources funds for those projects would be provided by federal government and donor agencies.

Some of the approved schemes had drawn funds from federal government and donor agencies, as the former had indicated an Rs3.5 billion for restoration of irrigation schemes in Malakand division.

Similarly, the Norwegian government would provide Rs450 million for reconstruction of girls primary schools while the Italian government, under a debt-swap programme, would finance Rs420 million worth projects in the irrigation sector, the official said.

The provincial government had also re-prioritised its core Annual Development Programme (ADP) in areas affected in the floods to create fiscal space for new schemes. “Uplift schemes under execution stage or designed before the flood in most of the affected districts has to be revisited because now there is a big change in the needs,” the official said.