ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Pakistan Tuesday signed an agreement to invest US$ 73 million in rehabilitating Pakpattan Canal and Suleimanki Barrage in Pakistan's Punjab province.
"The rehabilitation of Pakpattan and its linked cannels, and installation of new gates at Suleimanki barrage will reduce water losses and will improve water delivery systems benefitting about 2.6 million people in four farming districts," said Werner Liepach, ADB's Country Director for Pakistan.
"The Pakpattan Canal and Suleimanki Barrage Improvement Project is part of the phased up-grading of Punjab's obsolete irrigation infrastructure and associated facilities.
An efficient irrigation system is vital to maintain agricultural outputs and competitiveness, this project aims to rehabilitate nearly century old canals and barrage to ensure reliable water supply vital to boost incomes of farming families in the country's breadbasket districts. he added.
The annual water leakages through damaged gates of the Suleimanki Barrage exceed 267 million cubic meters, and the Pakpattan Canal and its structures are also badly deteriorated resulting in disorder in regulating flows and high losses.
In Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, irrigated farming accounts for 26 percent of its gross domestic product and employs over 40 percent of its labor force.
The province's 14 barrages supply water for irrigation though an elaborate network of 22 main and link canals.
The investment is part of the $900 million multi-tranche finance facility (MFF) for the Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Investment Programme (PIAIP) approved by ADB in 2006 to co-finance investment in Punjab's irrigation sector.
The first two tranches were invested in improving the Lower Bari Doab Canal, Balloki Barrage and the New Khanki Barrage.
The ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members -- 48 from the region.
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