MANILA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Saturday approved three projects totaling 381 million U.S. dollars to boost agriculture, education, and health services in Punjab province, Pakistan, aiming to drive economic growth in the province, which accounts for more than half of the country's population and economic activity.
A 120-million-dollar concessional loan and a 4-million-dollar grant will support modern, disaster-resilient, and low-carbon agriculture, benefiting 220,000 rural farm households.
The project will mechanize farming, provide alternative livelihoods, enhance the skills of 15,000 women, and introduce a new financing model to equip small-scale farmers with advanced machinery.
The bank said that Punjab, the nation's breadbasket, produces 75 percent of wheat, 69 percent of rice, and 91 percent of maize, but outdated equipment leads to grain losses and harmful crop residue burning.
In education, the ADB approved 107 million dollars, including a 100-million-dollar loan and a 7-million-dollar grant, to modernize secondary education and expand inclusive STEM programs under the Punjab School Education Department, improving access to quality learning across the province.
The bank also greenlit a 150-million-dollar concessional loan to upgrade nursing education, build disaster-resilient training facilities, and strengthen governance of the health workforce.
The program will establish three centers of excellence in Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, featuring simulation labs, digital learning platforms, and gender-responsive hostels. ■
