The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant of $1 million for 'Enhancing Road Improvement Benefits' to improve the lot of the poor communities in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Official sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) would bear the expenses of the project. This will contribute to the efforts being made for reducing poverty among the rural population by increasing income and employment opportunities, they added. The sources said that the main goal of the proposed JFPR Project was to illustrate the potential of roads in poverty reduction. They said that the expected beneficiaries of it would be the poor communities adjacent to developed roads due to increased connectivity with the main roads and within villages.
These people will have better access to education and health services, markets, and job opportunities. The Works and Services Department of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) being the executing agency of the project would integrate community development objectives and consultative processes into road development in the province.
About the consulting services for the project, the sources said that the executing agency of the project would select the NGO and the engineering consultant using ADB's guidelines. According to the sources this three-year project would likely to be completed in April 2008.