In 2010, the worst floods in Pakistan’s history affected 100,000 square kilometers of land and 20 million people. They impacted more than one-tenth of the country’s population and caused about 1,800 deaths. Basic transport and irrigation facilities were badly damaged in 80 of the country’s 110 districts. A damage and needs assessment (DNA) conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank showed that 793 kilometers (km) of national highways—equivalent to 7% of the national highway network— needed immediate rehabilitation to ensure structural stability and public safety. Breaches in the flood embankments along the Indus River led to the flooding of 1.5 million hectares (ha) of agricultural land and damaged 1,925 km of the provincial roads network in Sindh province. The DNA estimated the reconstruction needs in the irrigation and transport sectors at $3.3 billion.
As soon as the floods subsided, the government began early recovery efforts and the restoration of basic services, housing, and livelihoods. It requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to assist, in response to which, ADB approved a $600 million loan for the Flood Emergency Reconstruction Project in March 2011. Overall, the project sought to contribute to Pakistan’s economic and social recovery from the floods. Its intended outcome was the rebuilding of physical infrastructure assets to original standards or better. It had 3 planned outputs: (i) road networks, including bridges, repaired and rehabilitated; (ii) provincial irrigation facilities rehabilitated and reconstructed; and (iii) support services.
Project attainment of its output targets was mixed. Only 344 kilometers (km) of national highways were rehabilitated and/or reconstructed, representing 43.4% of the original target. Higher-than−expected bid prices, resulting in successive scope reductions, and eventual time constraints accounted for the large shortfall. An additional 368 km of national highways were rehabilitated through retroactive financing. The Sindh provincial roads component reconstructed 920 km of provincial highways, exceeding the appraisal target by 15%.
The highway sections and bridges covered by the project were rebuilt to higher specifications to provide resilience against future flooding. Traffic grew, and travel time and vehicle operating costs declined on the rebuilt sections.
Under output 2, the project improved irrigation facilities, including canals and appurtenant structures, flood embankments, and drains, in about 2.2 million ha of agricultural land in Sindh, surpassing its 1.5 million ha target. 41.2 billion cubic meters of canal carrying capacity was restored, and 103 flood embankments, comprising 1,453 km were reconstructed, much in excess of targets.
Gender performance was satisfactory. Washing bays and drinking water supply schemes were included in 4 canal subprojects, resulting in immediate benefits for women, including reduced water fetching time, improved health and hygiene, and convenience in performing household chores. The capacity of implementing and executing agencies in fiduciary management, procurement, and safeguard compliance was also vastly improved.
Early positive impacts were apparent. By end−2015, estimated annual average daily traffic on the flood−affected national highways was 22.4% higher than in 2010. Increases in wheat, cotton, sugarcane, and rice production, while not in the amounts targeted, helped farmers to recover from flood losses.
ADB’s Central and West Asia Department rated the project successful. The National Highway Authority and the Planning and Development Department of the Sindh provincial government were the executing agencies.
