In a bid to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign loans, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, chief minister of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has rejected a $650 million loan offer by the Asian Development Bank to help rebuild the province following last year’s massive flooding.
The loan was meant to rehabilitate the province’s irrigation, transport and education sectors, Pakistani paper The News reports.
In October, the Pakistani government reportedly appealed for $3 billion in fresh loans from donors for the rehabilitation of flood-ravaged communities.
>> Pakistan Wants Fresh Post-flood Aid of USD3B
Meanwhile, the Sindh government, another Pakistani province, has decided to secure a $400 million soft loan from ADB.
“Emergency funds are being sought from ADB and we had continuous sessions with bank officials to keep the work on a fast track,” Kaiser Bengali, adviser to the Sindh chief minister for planning and development, said on Mar. 3.
The loan will be used to improve irrigation and road systems, The Express Tribune reports.
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