ADB Approves US$500 Million Loan For Pakistan

NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$500 million loan to support climate change and disaster risk reduction and resilience in Pakistan, where massive floods in 2022 affected about 33 million people.

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and its average losses from disasters exceed US$2 billion per year, according to an ADB statement on Tuesday.

The bank said its Climate and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Programme (CDREP) will strengthen Pakistan's institutional capacity for planning, preparedness and response.

"This programme builds on ADB's longstanding work in Pakistan to understand and reduce climate and disaster risks and support effective disaster response," said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.

"We are proud to support an integrated and comprehensive approach to climate and disaster risk management, including a portfolio of disaster risk financing instruments for timely and adequate funding for disaster response," Zhukov added.

The unusually heavy monsoon rains and floods two years ago caused devastation across a wide area of Pakistan.

The economic losses were estimated to be about US$15.2 billion, as mentioned in a damage report prepared by the Pakistani government and international financial agencies during that period.

Pakistan needed at least US$16.3 billion for rehabilitation and reconstruction, according to the report.

-- BERNAMA