The government is implementing National Drainage Programme (NDP) for bringing improvement in drainage, reclamation of water logged and saline land in the Indus basin.
The first phase of programme (NDP4) to be funded by World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) is scheduled to be implemented in a period of six and half years at a cost of $785 million (Rs 31 billion).
According to official sources the donors have agreed to provide $525 million (Rs 21 billion) as a soft credit with a 35 years repayment period.
National Drainage Programme (NDP) as originally conceived, is a 25 years investment plan with a total cost of Rs 150 billion.
The Project is expected to contribute enormously towards enhancing crop production as a result of reduction in water-logging and salinity and through better operation and maintenance of Pakistan's irrigation and drainage network.
Programme is designed to restore environmentally sustainable irrigated agriculture through three broad interventions to minimise saline drainable surplus and facilitate the eventual evacuation of saline effluent from the Indus Basin into the Arabian Sea.
The programme will also be helpful to improve the operational efficiency of the Provincial Irrigation Departments through institutional reforms through the development of Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authorities, Area Water Boards, (AWBs) and Farmers organisations (FOS).
Benefits from the project are expected to accrue from increased agricultural production through surface drainage improvement/extension in an area of about 9 million acres.
In addition, he said, rehabilitation of existing sub surface drainage systems and new tile drains will improve drainage in an area of about 2 million acres.
The physical targets and drainage works to be carried out in the four provinces under NDP and major projects identified in the original scope of work include the LBOD remaining Works RBOD, DGK Integrated Drainage and Irrigation Project. Muzaffargarh Drainage Project SCARP-VI Evaporation Ponds, Drainage-IV (Phase-III), Deg Nullah, Kafur Dheri, Lasbela Drainage, etc and O&M through Performance Contracts (8700 kms of drains) in all the four Provinces.