ADB prepares $2 bn fund for Pakistan

MANILA: The Asian Development Bank ( ADB) said on Thursday it would provide Pakistan with two billion dollars to help it recover from the devastating floods that have killed nearly 1,500 people.

The money will go towards rebuilding roads, bridges, power lines, housing, schools, medical facilities, irrigation and farm structures destroyed by the flooding, the Manila-based ADB said in a statement.

However the statement did not say whether the funds would come in the form of a concessional loan or grant, and an ADB spokesman said the details of the fund release were still being finalised.

The ADB's chief for central and west Asia, Juan Miranda, who arrived in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the aid package with senior officials there, said unprecedented efforts were needed to help Pakistan.

"The extent of human suffering caused by the floods cannot be easily quantified, nor can the damage wrought upon the country's physical and social infrastructure," Miranda said in the statement.

"But what is clear is that this disaster is like no other in living memory -- and that our response must also be unprecedented, equal to the need and fast."

Aside from the two-billion-dollar package, ADB said it had approved a three-million-dollar grant from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund for immediate relief assistance.

Entire villages have been wiped out and nearly 1,500 people have been confirmed dead since the floods hit Pakistan last month.

Officials said up to 20 million people and a fifth of Pakistani territory had been affected by the catastrophe, the worst in the history of the country.

The ADB said the two billion dollars would be released in accordance with the findings of a needs assessment team it is jointly undertaking with the World Bank.

Apart from the deaths, it said more than 2,500 schools, 175 health centres 1,000 water supply facilities and 800,000 houses had been damaged.

Impact on livelihood was also extensive, with 80,000 livestock having perished and two million hectares of crops submerged.

The ADB pledge comes as the United Nations is scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss ramping up financial aid to Pakistan.

The UN last week launched an emergency appeal for 460 million dollars but as of Wednesday funding had reached only half of this target, including pledges that were yet to turn into cash.