PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to take a loan of Rs99 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the local government department.
The loan, which will be the largest loan borrowed in the history of the province, will reportedly be used to improve the living standards in five major cities including Swat, Peshawar, Mardan, Abbottabad and Kohat for the project.
As per details, the ADB has proposed a mega project to provide clean drinking water, sanitation services and basic amenities in the selected cities. As per the agreement, the regional development bank will provide Rs93.118bn in phases over the next five years.
Furthermore, ADB’s management has also approved a separate loan of $500 million for the provincial government.
The project has been named ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project’. The plan includes the provision of clean drinking water, improvement of drainage situation, water treatment plants for re-use of drainage, setting up of dumping sites including disposal of waste and construction of public parks.
The main objective of the project is to improve the living standards of more than three million people living in these cities
According to a report prepared by the ADB, the project pays special attention to the downtrodden sections of society and includes special scholarship and training projects for women living in selected districts.
The report said that Rs3.447 billion will be spent on the establishment of a project management unit which will be completed in five years with the help of water and sanitation services companies and Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs).
