Pakistan : Naulong Integrated Water Resources Development Project

Project Name

Naulong Integrated Water Resources Development Project

Project Number

51131-003

Country / Economy

• Pakistan

Project Status

Active

Project Type / Modality of Assistance

• Loan

Source of Funding / Amount

Loan 6048-PAK: Naulong Integrated Water Resources Development Project

Source	Amount
Concessional ordinary capital resources lending	US$ 5.00 million

Operational Priorities

• OP1: Addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities
• OP2: Accelerating progress in gender equality
• OP3: Tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability
• OP5: Promoting rural development and food security
• OP6: Strengthening governance and institutional capacity

Sector / Subsector

• Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural production - Irrigation - Land-based natural resources management

• Energy / Large hydropower generation

• Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development - Urban water supply

Gender

Description

The project readiness financing (PRF) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will prepare the Naulong Integrated Water Resources Development Project. The project supports the Government of Pakistans Vision 2025 and ADBs country partnership strategy for Pakistan, 2021 to 2025, which emphasizes the need for water, energy, and food security. It aligns with ADBs Strategy 2030 in addressing poverty and inequalities, gender equality, climate change, and rural development and food security. The project also aligns with Pakistan's Nationally Determined Contribution. Pakistan has committed to mitigating climate vulnerability and reducing its annual greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 20%. The PRF is included in ADBs indicative country operations business plan for Pakistan, 2021 to 2023. The national government approved the Planning Commission Proforma-I for the proposed PRF and the ensuing project in January 2022.

The PRF will ensure high-quality design, stakeholder engagement, and safeguards and procurement readiness and procurement support of the ensuing project. It will facilitate the timely and cost-effective achievement of the projects outcomes. The PRF builds on the project planning documents, including the feasibility study and associated studies commissioned by the Water and Power Development Authority. The PRF will validate the project design and update social and environmental safeguards documents and other due diligence assessments.

The project is in Jhal Magsi District of the Balochistan province. The provinces population represents 6% of the countrys population and and contributes up to 4.5% percent of the national GDP. Agriculture is central to Balochistans economy and about 72 percent of the population lives in rural areas and depends mainly on agriculture. The agriculture sector accounts for about one third of the provincial gross domestic product, employs two-third of its labor force and provides livelihood to half of its population. About 70 percent of farmers in Balochistan do not have access to regular source of water. Variability in water availability in Balochistan is far higher than the national average, and per capita water storage is only 20 percent of the national average that itself is already grossly inadequate in comparison to other countries in the region. Extended droughts and destructive flash floods are common, and are likely to worsen with future climate change projections. The people most vulnerable to water scarcity in Balochistan are the rural poor, especially women and children.

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Pakistan highly relies on a single river system, the Indus River, as a basis of food security and water supply for all sectors of the economy. The Indus Basin covers 70 percent of the country, but it stretches over only 5% of Balochistan. In view of its arid climate, much of Balochistans land area is rugged desert or low-grade range land and only 7.2% of its area is under cultivation. The province remains the least water secured province in Pakistan, the most at risk from climate change, and the least able to cope with water-related development challenges. In view of lack of investments in water storage, access to reliable surface water is limited and therefore, groundwater is a critical resource in the province. Groundwater is significantly over-abstracted and has led to major declines in groundwater levels in many parts of the province. As estimated by the United Nations Development Program (using the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index), 71.2% of the provinces population lived below the official poverty line, as compared to 38.8% for Pakistan as a whole.

Impact

Project Outcome

Description of Outcome

Progress Toward Outcome

Implementation Progress

Description of Project Outputs

Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues)

Geographical Location

Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects

Environmental Aspects

Involuntary Resettlement

Indigenous Peoples

Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation

During Project Design

During Project Implementation

Business Opportunities

Consulting Services

A consulting team will be engaged for updating the existing detailed engineering design, and for procurement and safeguard document preparation support. The consulting firm for the PRF may be engaged for the ensuing project as the construction supervision consultant team through the single-source selection (SSS) method at the request of the government, executing agency, or implementing agency. This will be subject to the satisfactory performance of the firm. It will facilitate timely and quality construction supervision, with detailed knowledge of the engineering design.

Procurement

No procurement activity

Contact

Responsible ADB Officer

Yoshida, Kazuhiro

Responsible ADB Department

Sectors Group

Responsible ADB Division

Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office (SG-AFNR)

Executing Agencies

Water and Power Development Authority

Timetable

Concept Clearance

08 Dec 2023

Fact Finding

13 May 2022 to 23 May 2022

MRM

02 Aug 2022

Approval

25 Oct 2022

Last Review Mission

-

Last PDS Update

31 Oct 2022

Funding

Loan 6048-PAK