DUSHANBE, February 20, Asia-Plus – Management of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a request from the Government of Tajikistan to finance the rehabilitation of 3.9 kilometers of Panj River protection works and reconstruction of 9.45 kilometers of km of the Dehqonobod canal.
As it had been reported earlier, the river protection works and the canal were damaged after severe floods occurred in Hamadoni and Farkhor districts on
June 24-25 2005
. As a result of those floods, 15 kilometers of riverbank protection works, 24 bridges and other infrastructure facilities were destroyed, affecting a large number of population in Khatlon province, particularly in Hamadoni and Farkhor districts. Also, about 16,000 people had to be evacuated because of the flood, and more than 600 families lost their homes.
According to information from the ADB Mission in
Dushanbe
, the Tajik Government had requested ADB for assistance to rehabilitate the river protection works and re-construction of Dehqonobod canal through reallocation of funds from the ADB’s on-going Agriculture Rehabilitation Project. The total estimated cost of these rehabilitation works is $7.5 million, out of which ADB will provide $5.763 million.
Upon completion, the rehabilitation works will yield major benefits to the community in Hamadoni and Farkhor districts. These benefits include: 1) provision of irrigation water for 25,000 hectares of cotton cropland at downstream locations; 2) availability of potable water supply to the local and downstream population; and 3) mitigation of threat to life and property due to floods in future.
ADB responded to the Government’s request for financing these rehabilitation works in a timely manner.
