Manila: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $400 million concessional loan to aid in the reconstruction of flood-damaged housing and community infrastructure in Sindh, Pakistan, which was severely affected by the 2022 floods.
According to Asian Development Bank, the Sindh Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project aims to rehabilitate houses and community facilities while bolstering the local population’s resilience to climate-induced hazards. This initiative is part of a broader commitment by the ADB, pledging $1.5 billion from 2023 to 2025 to hasten Pakistan’s recovery from the catastrophic floods that impacted 33 million people and caused widespread destruction across the country.
Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, emphasized that the project is designed to restore homes, communities, and essential services in Sindh, which endured approximately 83% of the total housing damage from the 2022 floods. With about 2.1 million houses significantly damaged or destroyed, many residents still live in temporary shelters lacking basic amenities.
The funding will facilitate the reconstruction of 250,000 homes using designs resilient to multiple hazards and environmentally responsive. Additionally, it will enable the community-led construction of essential infrastructure, such as water and sanitation facilities, and support sustainable energy solutions for about 100,000 households across 1,000 villages in Sindh. The project also includes conditional cash grants to revive livelihoods through livestock, agriculture, small enterprises, and e-commerce initiatives.
Srinivas Sampath, ADB Director for Water and Urban Development, noted that the project not only focuses on rebuilding but also promotes community-led climate resilience and disaster risk management to better prepare for future events. The initiative aligns with the government’s resilient rehabilitation, reconstruction, and recovery strategy and is supported by a $500,000 technical assistance grant to enhance government capacity in procurement, safeguard compliance, and management.
The ADB remains dedicated to fostering a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia-Pacific region, continuing its mission to eliminate extreme poverty since its establishment in 1966.