ADB Approves $400 Million Loan for Flood Recovery in Sindh

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $400 million concessional loan to support the reconstruction of houses and community infrastructure in Pakistan’s Sindh province, which was heavily damaged by the catastrophic floods of 2022.

The Sindh Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project aims to rehabilitate flood-damaged houses and community infrastructure while supporting livelihood recovery and enhancing resilience against climate change-induced natural hazards. This initiative is a critical part of ADB’s broader response to Pakistan’s flood crisis and is included in the bank’s $1.5 billion total assistance package from 2023 to 2025 for flood recovery.

“This project will help rebuild homes and communities, and restore livelihood and basic services in Sindh, the province most affected by the devastating 2022 floods,” stated Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia. He highlighted that the project is part of ADB’s extensive support to help Pakistan recover from the disaster, which affected 33 million people and caused widespread damage to houses and infrastructure.

Sindh province sustained approximately 83% of the total housing damage from the 2022 floods, with around 2.1 million houses either fully destroyed or damaged. Even two years later, many flood victims still live in inadequate, temporary shelters lacking essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity.

The project will provide conditional cash grants for the reconstruction of 250,000 houses with designs that are resilient to multiple hazards and responsive to environmental concerns. It will also support the community-driven construction of infrastructure, including drinking water facilities, sanitation facilities, covered drainage, and renewable energy solutions for 100,000 households across approximately 1,000 flood-damaged villages in Sindh.

Additionally, the project will offer conditional cash grants for livestock, agriculture, small enterprises, and e-commerce to aid livelihood recovery.

“ADB’s support will not only help Pakistan build back better, but it will also promote community-led climate resilience and disaster risk management strategies to better prepare for future hazards,” said Srinivas Sampath, ADB Director for Water and Urban Development.