WB enhances to $1B loan for flood-hit areas

$700m to be used for floods related early recovery projects and $300m for imports

ISLAMABAD, (Ishfaq Mughal): The World Bank enhanced the re-programming loan for relief and reconstructions work in the flood-hit areas up to one billion dollars.

The Federal Minister for Finance, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh held a meeting with Mr. Xian Zhu, Operations Director and a group of Senior Managers from World Bank Group visiting Pakistan to follow-up and provides support on the World Bank response package for floods relief and reconstruction.

The public relation of the ministry of Finance said that during the meeting, the World Bank has agreed to enhance the amount of US $ 900 million earlier committed through re-programming to US $ 1 billion for the relief and reconstruction work with regard to the recent floods in Pakistan.

Out of this amount, an amount of $ 700 million shall be available for floods related early recovery and reconstruction projects, while an amount of $ 300 million shall be used for financing flood related imports.

Earlier, on August 16, the World Bank, instead granting aid or new loan, gave $900 million for flood-hit areas of the Pakistan. The funding will come from the Bank’s Fund for the Poorest (the International Development Association, IDA) through reprogramming of currently planned projects and reallocation of undisbursed funds from ongoing projects, the bank said.

We are working with the Government to re-prioritize our planned projects and review ongoing projects for possible reallocation to reconstruction activities. Some immediate priorities we have agreed with the government are; Reallocating $10 million of existing undisbursed funds to the National Disaster Management Agency providing fast-disbursing additional funds to retroactively finance imports needed for early recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation, such as fuel, steel, cement and related goods and services, said in the statement.

Working with the government to help ensure that disaster funds are spent for their intended purpose, it added.