The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved US $ 385 million in financing to help improve the livability and community health of five cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project will help to construct two clean water supply treatment facilities, three sewerage treatment facilities, and will rehabilitate dysfunctional tube wells among several other important sub projects in the cities of Abbottabad, Kohat, Mardan, Mingora, and Peshawar, said an ADB press statement received here.

More than 3.5 million people will benefit from improved access to clean and safe water, reliable and integrated waste management and sanitation services, green urban spaces, and gender-friendly urban facilities. 

“This project has used ADB’s project readiness financing facility to ensure detailed engineering design, safeguards assessments, and other critical preparatory work was completed in advance—a first for central and west Asia region.

That will ensure the transformative benefits of this project will flow to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province more quickly”, said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. ADB will provide a US $ 380 million loan and a US $ 5 million grant, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will provide co-financing of US $ 200 million, subject to approval of their board of directors.

Together with US $ 65 million in financing from the Government of Pakistan, this represents ADB’s largest urban project (US $ 650 million equivalent) in Pakistan.