WB to provide US$900 mln funding to Pakistan
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The World Bank said Monday that it has agreed to provide a 900-million-dollar loan to Pakistan to help the country recover from the severe flood.
"The government of Pakistan has requested around 900 million dollars of financial support from the World Bank, which we have committed to provide," the bank said in a statement.
The bank estimated the economic cost of the flood to be "huge," and the housing, roads, irrigation and agriculture to be the hardest-hit sectors in the country.
"Crop loss is estimated at one billion dollars. However, the full impact on soil erosion and agriculture can only be assessed when the water recedes, by mid-September," said the statement.
The deadly floods have now affected over 14 million people, and the affected area covers 1.4 million acres of cropped land, the bank quoted Pakistani official figures as saying. It noted that continuing rains have caused additional flooding and hindered relief activities.
The bank said the Pakistani government has asked the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to undertake a Damages and Needs Assessment in the flood-hit areas.
The two banks and the United Nations "will collaborate through participation and sharing of information on their respective assessments, and will also regularly coordinate with key donors," said the statement.
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