World Bank approves 188m dollars loan for Guddu Barrage

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ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has approved 188 million dollars loan to improve, reliability and safety of the Guddu Barrage. The loan will be spend to extend the life of barrage by another 50 years.

International Develop­ment Association, the low-interest arm of World Bank, approved the funding to increase the barrage’s life by another 50 years.

The approved loan would be spent on securing some 65 hugely rusted gates of Guddu Barrage whose 60 per cent of steel has been eroded thus creating operational difficulties.

World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Rachid Benmessaoud said, “Barrages are strategic assets of Sindh and millions of people depend on water that is controlled, diverted and managed by them. Its continued operation and management require expertise, experience, decision-making, and continuity of operation”.