MANILA, 22 October 2005 — A joint team from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank will begin assessing the needs and reconstruction costs following this months deadly earthquake in Pakistan which has left over 51,300 people dead, the ADB said in a statement yesterday.
“It will carry out damage assessments to obtain credible estimates of the cost of reconstruction,” said the joint statement issued from the ADB headquarters in Manila.
The team expects to submit its assessment in mid-November. “The Asian tsunami disaster earlier this year provided a model through which we could quickly mobilize a joint team to make an assessment that will guide the reconstruction and rehabilitation following the earthquake,” Peter Fedon, ADB Country Director in Pakistan said in the statement.
“Efficient coordination is crucial at this stage to ensure that work is carried out as quickly as possible according to our respective strengths and experience.”
In the joint needs assessment, ADB will focus on the education, transport, water, energy, and agriculture sectors, while the World Bank will concentrate on livelihood restoration, housing, health, private sector and the environment.