Islamabad, Oct 9: World Bank Housing Reconstruction Disbursement Delays in Balochistan
According to the World Bank Country Director, Najy Benhassine, the $2 billion commitment was announced at the Donors Conference held in Geneva in 2023 as World Bank assistance to aid the government of Pakistan in its response to the 2022 floods.
To date, over $2 billion has been allocated for implementation through a three-pronged strategy: Immediate Response, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, and Resilience.
He elaborated that $454 million has been made accessible via existing projects, $277 million designated for immediate response, $177 million for reconstruction and rehabilitation, and resilience, while $1.55 billion is allocated for new initiatives (Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, and Resilience).
He added that within the new initiatives, $213 million is earmarked for reconstruction and resilience with an emphasis on Balochistan, $500 million for Sindh reconstruction (currently being implemented), $500 million for Sindh Housing (currently being implemented), $40 million for Sindh Health (currently being implemented), $147 million for Sindh Social Protection (currently being implemented), $98 million for Sindh Agriculture (currently being implemented), and $50 million for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reconstruction (currently being implemented).
In response to inquiries, World Bank representatives affirmed that funding for housing reconstruction in Balochistan has yet to initiate.
They stated: “We have an implementation arrangement, and occasionally, processes take longer than anticipated to finalize. However, we have a system in place, and progress is beginning.”
They also indicated that developments are advancing rapidly in Sindh, with $22 million disbursed for housing reconstruction thus far. Furthermore, they reported that $270 million has been distributed to the flood-affected individuals to date.
The country director additionally emphasized the necessity for more concessional loans to be accessible to low-income nations.
Regarding the Sindh Flood Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project ($500 million), bank officials stated that the aim was to implement a beneficiary-focused, multi-hazard resilient reconstruction of essential housing units affected by the 2022 floods in designated districts of Sindh, for which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged $400 million and ISDB $200 million. So far, 935,000 bank accounts have been created.
