The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has spent Rs12.984 billion on rehabilitating flood damaged irrigation channels, drainage systems and flood protection structures across the province under the Asian Development Bank backed Emergency Flood Assistance Project, with 143 schemes being implemented across nine districts to restore vital water infrastructure and strengthen protection against future floods.
KP spends Rs13bn into post flood irrigation rehabilitation
ISLAMABAD, Aug 18 (APP): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has spent Rs12.984 billion on rehabilitating flood damaged irrigation channels, drainage systems and flood protection structures across the province under the Asian Development Bank backed Emergency Flood Assistance Project, with 143 schemes being implemented across nine districts to restore vital water infrastructure and strengthen protection against future floods.
According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the project covers 79 irrigation, headworks and drainage schemes and 64 flood protection works.
The rehabilitation programme includes 91.40 kilometres of irrigation channels, 262 kilometres of drains and flood carrier channels and 67.90 kilometres of flood protection works.
The Irrigation Department is implementing the project across Swat, Malakand, Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar, Dir, Chitral, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.
The foreign funded component is valued at Rs13.2 billion, against which cumulative expenditure has reached Rs12.693 billion.
The local component amounts to Rs1.8 billion, with Rs291 million spent so far.
The two components bring the overall project cost to Rs15 billion, with cumulative expenditure reaching Rs12.984 billion, indicating substantial utilisation of the available financing.
Dera Ismail Khan has the largest number of irrigation, headworks and drainage interventions, with 66 schemes, while no separate flood protection work is listed for the district.
Swat has the second largest combined portfolio with 38 schemes, including seven irrigation, headworks and drainage projects and 31 flood protection works.
The Peshawar circle has 16 schemes, comprising five irrigation, headworks and drainage projects and 11 flood protection interventions, while Swabi has 11 works, including one irrigation scheme and 10 flood protection projects.
The Mardan circle has 10 flood protection works, while Bannu has two such interventions. Overall, the project comprises 143 schemes across the province.
The loan agreement for the project was signed on Dec 15, 2022, and became effective on Feb 9, 2023. The design stage was completed between April and December 2023.
The original loan closing date of June 30, 2026, has been extended to June 30, 2027, allowing additional time for completion of the reconstruction and rehabilitation programme.
With expenditure nearing Rs13 billion, the initiative is aimed at restoring flood damaged infrastructure while improving irrigation, drainage and flood protection capacity in vulnerable areas of KP.
