ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday provided financing of $ 86.4 million for the construction of the Pehur High-Level Canal Extension Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Secretary Tariq Pasha signed the loan agreement with ADB Country Director Xiaohong Yang.
Subsequently, KP Irrigation Department secretary signed the project agreement with ADB country director. The total project cost is US$ 96.6 million and will be completed by June 2023.
The ceremony was witnessed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigation Senior Minister Sikandar Sherpao and Chief Minister’s Special Assistant for Commerce and Industries Abdul Karim Khan.
The finance minister appreciated the ADB’s assistance for the Pehur High-Level Canal Extension Project, and their continued support and partnership for development projects in Pakistan, including the agriculture sector. He congratulated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, EAD, and ADB on successful negotiations and signing of the agreement.
The minister said that the project will target three major agriculture domains in the province. He said the project will increase water availability for agriculture, increase of water-use skill and farm management capacity; facilitate project management support and capacity building. He emphasised that the project is expected to increase farm incomes and incomes of non-farm households engaged in agriculture in arid areas.
The ADB country director said that enabling effective water resource management was an important step towards increasing farm productivity across Pakistan. She highlighted that the project would help increase agriculture output and raise income opportunities of the farming families in the province.
The project will build on the earlier phase of the Pehur High-Level Canal, developed with ADB’s assistance, by further increasing the availability of water to farmers through new irrigation canals and pipeline over 65 km, and improving water-use efficiency and farm management capacity to secure the province’s food security targets.
The project will create job opportunities for about 75,000 people in the newly irrigated area of 8,727 hectares in the districts of Swabi and Nowshera.
The project envisages construction of irrigation system in Janda Boka-Malikabad area and Indus Ambar area, along with construction of on-farm level irrigation canals in both areas. Interventions through this project will involve the construction of the irrigation system in JandaBoka-Malikabad area and Indus Amber area, along with construction of on-farm level irrigation canals in both areas; 20 water courses in JandaBoka-Malikabad and 86 water courses in Indus Amber area.
Approximately 100 demonstration plots would be developed for high irrigation efficiency, profitable farming and training for up-to-date farmer practices to approximately 106 water user associations and farmers.
