In the wake of the devastating floods that struck Pakistan, internationaldonors pledged a substantial sum of $10.9 billion to aid the affectedregions. However, upon closer examination of these commitments, it becomesevident that Pakistan is anticipated to receive only approximately $3.4billion as net funding, specifically designated for the implementation ofvital infrastructure projects in these flood-ravaged areas.
Among the $10.9 billion in pledges made at the Geneva conference, asignificant portion of the funding took the form of commodities financing,an oil facility, and the reallocation of funds, leaving a reduced sumavailable for the actual execution of development projects aimed atassisting the flood-affected regions.
A comprehensive analysis of these pledges reveals that the IslamicDevelopment Bank (IsDB) played a pivotal role by committing $4.2 billionthrough its subsidiary, the ITFC, for commodities and oil financing over athree-year period. This left approximately $6.7 billion in remainingcommitments from other sources.
Additionally, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) pledged $1 billion foran oil facility, with this commitment slated to expire by December 2023.Furthermore, the Paris Club countries extended pledges amounting to $1.2billion, thus leaving an outstanding sum of $4.5 billion.
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Multilateral creditors also played their part in the relief effort,re-purposing a total of around $1.127 billion for the flood-affected areas.Notably, the World Bank reallocated $299 million, the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) contributed $78 million, and the Asian Infrastructure InvestmentBank (AIIB) allocated a substantial $750 million.
However, when we exclude the re-purposed funding of $1.1 billion, the netamount available for construction and rehabilitation in the flood-strickenareas amounted to a mere $3.4 billion. This underscores the importance ofefficient allocation and utilization of these funds to address the pressinginfrastructure needs arising from the devastating floods in Pakistan.