The Pakistan province of Sindh will improve [water supply, wastewater, and solid waste management infrastructure] in its secondary cities under a $300 million loan [in the form of a multitranche financing facility (MFF)] to the Sindh Cities Improvement Investment Program approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
[S]ix million people live in more than 20 secondary cities, where deficient basic urban services stifle economic growth and contribute to poverty. Urban services in the smaller cities fall far short of targets for quality, continuity, and coverage. Only about half the urban population of Sindh, outside of Karachi, has piped water. Even then, the water quality is poor and often flows for only two to four hours a day. Sanitary drainage is extremely limited and sewer lines are often blocked. No sanitary landfills exist, which leads to solid waste being disposed of by burning or illegal dumping in open spaces or drainage channels, causing blockage and pollution.
The ADB loan facility will also assist the Sindh government establish local government-owned urban services corporations.
[...] More than half a million households will also benefit from reforms that deliver a more reliable water supply, wastewater, and solid waste management.
[...] The first tranche of $38 million (2009-2012) targets institutional change and priority infrastructure projects in the northern Sindh cities of Sukkur, New Sukkur, Rohri, Khairpur, Shikarpur and Larkana.
Source: ADB, 03 Dec 2008
