Japan to rehabilitate KP roads with over Rs820 million fund

PESHAWAR: The government of Japan has approved the disbursement of Rs 820,686,231 to rehabilitate the roads damaged by floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The amount would be provided from the Counter Value Fund to support the project of “Rehabilitation of Flood Damaged Rural Roads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”.

The embassy of Japan issued a note for its approval on January 6, said a press release issued by the honorary Consulate General here on Saturday.

The Counter Value Fund is an official development fund mutually administered by the government of Japan and Pakistan.

It is generated from the Non-Project Grant Aid that Japan has provided to Pakistan and deposited in the local currency. It can be used for public sector development project requested by the government of Japan.

A total of Rs4.934 billion has been distributed from the fund to 17 projects approved since 2004. Japan had received a request from Pakistan to help restore rural roads damaged by the 2015 floods.

The floods had killed 238 people, affected 1933 million people and damaged 10,716 houses as per the annual flood report 2015 and Ministry of Water and Power.

In this project, one section, 8 Km road, in the Swat district and two sections, 12 km and 9 km respectively, in Haripur are among the roads damaged by the flood which would be rehabilitated.

According to the KP government, around 80 per cent of the population in the target areas makes a living by growing fruits and vegetables and transporting them to neighboring large cities.

However, the heavy rains and floods in 2015 damaged the roads, which endangered traffic, increased transportation costs, reduced farmer’s income and increased the unemployment rate.

The communication said the project is aimed at reinforcing the rural economy by rehabilitating the damaged roads.