The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to provide 50 million dollars (Rs 3 billion) for Sindh Coastal and Inland Community Development Project (SCICDP) to be implemented during the year 2006. The amount will be spent under an integrated, well synchronised and Coastal Zone Management Master Plan in the coastal areas of Sindh, Coastal Development Authority Director General, Munawar Opel said here, on Monday.
According to him, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in Islamabad had already approved the project concept paper costing Rs 48.840 million out of which ADB's grant would be Rs 39 million while the Sindh government would contribute Rs 9.840 million.
The study will be carried over next eight months from July 2005 by 41 foreign and local consultants to be appointed by the Asian Development Bank. The investment in projects will be identified on the basis of the study.
The study will cover policy and institution, natural resource economics; coastal resource management; coast fisheries infrastructure, rural sociologist/community development; gender and development; coastal environment; rural infrastructure; enterprise development; farming system/crop development; fisheries/agriculture; coastal institutions and policy; geographic improvement; alternative energy; hydrogeologist; oilseeds crops; marine fisheries and mangroves development.
Opel pointed out that recently the World Bank had offered 13.50 million dollars for the project "Supporting Vulnerable Communities in Thatta and Badin districts of Sindh" with SCDA as a responsible agency.
The project was based on the World Bank's socio-economic study report on the coastal areas of two districts prepared with SCDA assistance and has a life span of three years.
The report examines the socio-economic conditions of the communities residing in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts and identifies constraints that need to be addressed in the short run.
It focuses on the 175,000 to 200,000 households that live along the coast in the eight Talukas of two districts and to address some of the constraints faced by them, resulting in improvement of livelihood of the local coastal communities.
The World Bank funding will have three components of Community Investment Fund (CIF) 10 million dollars; Mangroves Rehabilitation and Ecosystem Management 2 million dollars and Project Management Monitoring and Evaluation 1.5 million dollars.
The areas to be covered will include mobilisation of community organisation, advisory services in saline agriculture, social services, construction of primary schools, health centers, provision of equipment and furniture, reconstruction of cyclone destroyed residential houses, water supply and sanitation.
Apart from this, community based fishery management, support for coastal aquaculture, construction of Jetties/ wharfs, provision of fishing boats, improvement in landing fish, support for improvement in marketing and processing, rural roads and electrification, including through windmill and solar hybrid generation system will also be the components of the project.
The SCDA is currently implementing projects worth Rs 279.200 million, which include rehabilitation and propagation of drought affected coastal mangroves of Thatta District (Rs 39.690 million), planting of salt resistant tree species in the coastal zone of Sindh (Rs 7 million), marine fisheries surveillance in the coastal areas of Sindh (Rs16.447 million), pen culture demonstration in the coastal creeks and back waters of Sindh (Rs 8.500 million), low-cost feed development for brackish and marine fish culture (Rs 19.999 million), aquaculture development in the coastal areas of Sindh (Rs 29.655 million), improvement of livestock in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts (Rs39.990 million), shrimps breeding in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts (Rs19.200 million), rural water supply scheme at village Ismail Aplano, Thatta District (Rs 6.245 million), feasibility study/designing for construction of Shah Bandar Jetty (Rs 3.340 million), preparation of feasibility report for development of entertainment and recreation centers in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts (Rs10.550 million), oilpalm plantation on 1000 acres at different farm locations in the coastal zone of Thatta district as model farms along with oilpalm extraction plant of two tonnes per hour capacity (Rs 84.919 million).
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