The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing a loan of US$ 300 million (€ 224 million) to enable the Pakistani province of Sindh to improve water and sanitation services in its secondary cities. The loan will also help the Sindh government establish local government-owned urban services corporations.

The loan will be provided to the Sindh Cities Improvement Investment Program, which aims to improve deficient basic services in more than 20 towns and cities in the province, with a combined population of six million people. The programme will improve water supply and the treatment of wastewater and solid waste.

Only around half of the urban population of Sindh outside Karachi have access to piped water. The quality of the water is poor and it is often available only for a few hours a day. Drainage is limited and sewers are often blocked. As there are no landfills, much solid waste is burned or dumped illegally.

The investments will improve health and the quality of life in the cities, while making them economically more competitive. The first tranche of the loan (US$ 38 million [€ 28 million] for 2009-2012) targets institutional change and infrastructure projects in the cities of Sukkur, New Sukkur, Rohri, Khairpur, Shikarpur and Larkana.

Web site: ADB - Sindh Cities Improvement Investment Program

Source: ADB, 03 Dec 2008

Tags: financing, governance, south asia, urban wash