The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has greenlit a $180 million loan aimed at enhancing water supply and solid waste management services in Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur cities of Punjab, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
The ‘Developing Resilient Environments and Advancing Municipal Services in Punjab Project’ is anticipated to benefit approximately 1.5 million people by mitigating excessive groundwater extraction and urban environment degradation. This will be achieved through the expansion and modernization of urban water supply in Rawalpindi and the improvement of solid waste management systems in Bahawalpur.
ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, Yevgeniy Zhukov, commented, “This project will help make municipal services in these two cities more sustainable, resilient, and less carbon-intensive. By helping to deliver reliable water supply and improving waste management, we expect to significantly improve the lives of people in Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur.”
In Rawalpindi, the project will involve the construction of new surface water intakes and a water treatment plant with a daily capacity of 54 million litres. Additionally, it will lay transmission and distribution pipes to provide metered connections to 82,000 households. The financing will also facilitate the upgrade of water pumps and transmission mains, along with the establishment of three pilot district metering areas for enhanced operational efficiency.
For Bahawalpur, the project aims to enhance solid waste collection through the procurement of waste collection equipment and a new fleet for expanded service coverage. The initiative will also include the construction of a recycling facility and a floodproof landfill, with rehabilitation planned for the existing dump site. The financing will further support the provision of personal protective equipment for informal sector workers.
ADB Urban Development Specialist, Xijie Lu, highlighted, “Aside from improving infrastructure services, ADB’s project will help enhance the operational efficiency, inclusivity, and financial sustainability of Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency and Bahawalpur Waste Management Company. We also aimed to be innovative, with some of the project’s components featuring renewable technologies, cost-recovery interventions, and behavioral change and communication elements.”
In addition to the loan, ADB will administer a $1 million technical assistance provided by the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund. This assistance aims to strengthen the capacity of the Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency to address leakages in the city’s water supply network.
