Noor Ahmed, secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs has signed an agreement with the World Bank to uplift the rural areas in the domain of sustainable water supply. To ensure the equitable and inclusive socioeconomic opportunities for the Sothern Punjab, eight districts are added in the list. The districts are; Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur. The project holds the worth of around $442.4 million. The project will directly impact the life of common man and create employment opportunities in the rural areas. Although the total cost of the project is $553 million, where the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has committed to pay around $200 million and International Development Association (IDA) will pay around $242.4 million. This project aims to provide equitable and sustainable access to clean drinking water; improve sanitation; and reduce child stunting in Punjab. The project interventions will cover 2,000 villages including 2,000 main settlements and 8,000 small settlements in 16 districts of Punjab. This project will support investments that will increase climate resilience, including flood protection, rainwater harvesting and water conservation in these districts.
