Japan supports rehabilitation of flood-damaged roads in KPK
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PRESS RELEASE N0: JPNEMPAK21-03
Japan approves disbursement of over Rs.820 million
The Government of Japan has approved the disbursement of Rs.820,686,231 from the Counter Value Fund to support the “Project of Rehabilitation of Flood Damaged Rural Roads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). The Embassy of Japan issued a Note Verbale for its approval on January 6, 2021.
Reinforce agriculture-based rural economy by road rehabilitation
Japan has received a request from Pakistan to help restore rural roads damaged by the 2015 flood, which killed 238 people, affected 1.933 million people and damaged 10,716 houses (Annual Flood Report 2015, Ministry of Water & Power). In this project, one section (8km) in the District Swat and two sections (12km and 9km respectively) in the District Haripur among the roads damaged by the flood will be rehabilitated.
According to the KPK government, around 80% of the population in the target areas makes a living by producing fruits and vegetables and transporting them to neighboring large cities. However, the heavy rains and floods in 2015 caused damage to the roads, which has endangered traffic, increased transportation costs, reduced farmers' income and increased the unemployment rate. This project is aimed to reinforce the rural economy by rehabilitating the damaged roads.
In Japan, there are many natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons, and great efforts are spent on disaster prevention. H.E. MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan said, “Japan, as a time-tested friend of Pakistan, has worked on emergency relief and restoration in the event of recovery from the earthquake in 2005 and the flood in 2010. Disaster prevention is one of the priority areas of Japan’s assistance in Pakistan.”
What’s Counter Value Fund?
The Counter Value Fund is an official development fund mutually administered by the Governments 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 projects requested by the Government of Pakistan subject to approval by the Government of Japan. A total of Rs.4,934 million has been distributed from the fund to 17 projects approved since 2004.
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