WASHINGTON: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Pakistan’s northwest, will benefit from investments for post-flood rehabilitation and reconstruction thanks to $200 million in funds sanctioned by the World Bank to improve state capabilities to provide basic services and climate-resilient rural infrastructure.
According to a statement from the bank, the financial assistance is a component of a program established with the Pakistani government to address the disastrous floods that struck the nation in the summer of 2022 and create a Pakistan that is climate resilient.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Investment and Institutional Support Project (KPRIISP), which is the initial stage of a multiphase programmatic strategy, intends to improve rural households’ access to dependable and resilient basic services in the newly combined regions of KP.
Investments made under this first phase will be used to repair infrastructure damaged by the disastrous floods of summer 2022 as well as to improve state responsiveness and citizen-driven service delivery.
Najy Benhassine, the Country Director for Pakistan for the World Bank, states that “KPRIISP aims to fill development gaps in rural areas that are among the poorest in the country, directly benefiting about 5.5 million people by extending public service delivery systems, investing in basic infrastructure like water supply and sanitation, and boosting agricultural productivity and livelihood opportunities.” It will also help with post-flood recovery and reconstruction while increasing resistance to climatic shocks, particularly in the province’s newly united districts.
The project will support investments in vital and fundamental rural infrastructure as well as the expansion of state systems to provide public services in the Newly Merged Districts.
Additionally, it will help with the urgent repair and rehabilitation of flood protection infrastructure harmed by the floods of 2022. In response to Pakistan’s increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events, infrastructure investments in water supply and sanitation, rural roads, agriculture, and irrigation will be made in a way to increase climate resilience.
