ISLAMABAD — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) granted $385 million in financing on Friday to help five cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province enhance their livability and community health.
According to an ADB press release received here, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project will help build two clean water supply treatment facilities, three sewerage treatment facilities, and rehabilitate dysfunctional tube wells in the cities of Abbottabad, Kohat, Mardan, Mingora, and Peshawar, among other important sub projects.
Improved access to clean and safe water, dependable and integrated waste management and sanitation services, green urban areas, and gender-friendly urban amenities would benefit more than 3.5 million people. A total of 150,000 families will have new water supply connections as well as smart water metres placed in their houses.
According to the statement, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is becoming increasingly vulnerable to health concerns as a result of failing municipal services and the effects of climate change, due to its fast rising urban population. People, the environment, and sustainable development all benefit from strong, climate-resilient urban infrastructure paired with reliable services.
This initiative will assist in addressing the issues that urban areas in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa face. “Due to their inherent complexity and conflicting interests in restricted urban area, large urban projects are frequently delayed,” stated ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.
“This project took use of the Asian Development Bank’s project readiness funding facility to guarantee that comprehensive engineering design, safeguards assessments, and other important preparatory work were completed ahead of schedule—a first for the Central and West Asia area.”
This will guarantee that the project’s revolutionary effects reach the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region more rapidly,” Zhukov noted. The Asian Development Bank will give a US $ 380 million loan and a US $ 5 million grant, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will provide US $ 200 million in co-financing, subject to their board of directors’ approval.
This is the ADB’s largest urban project in Pakistan (US $ 650 million equivalent) thanks to US $ 65 million in funding from the Pakistani government.
The ADB’s loan contains more than US $ 106 million for climate adaptation and mitigation, making it the bank’s highest climate finance contribution in any urban project in 2021, reiterating the bank’s commitment to assisting developing member nations in combating climate change.
By modernising a centre dedicated to women’s skill development, the project will improve women’s access to economic possibilities and expand their engagement in urban administration, with a heavy focus on gender.
The project will renovate streets, parks, and nature trails, as well as include female-friendly urban amenities including women’s sports complexes, family zones, and well-lit rest places and restrooms.
A scholarship programme for suitable female students will also be supported by the initiative. Pakistan was a founding member of the ADB, which has invested more than US $ 36 billion to promote equitable economic growth and strengthen the country’s infrastructure, urban and social services, and climate change resilience since 1966, according to the statement.