Pakistan, 10 July 2017 - The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat has agreed on a joint venture to provide clean drinking water to around 6000 households in district Gilgit.

The agreement was confirmed in a meeting held between the Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan (AKAH), Mr. Nawab Ali Khan, and the Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan, Dr. Kazim Niaz held in Gilgit on July 10, 2017. 

It was agreed that AKAH will receive a grant of PKR 300 million (approximately USD 2.85 million) from the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan to provide safe drinking water to around 6,000 households – a population of over 54,000 people – in Danyore, Muhammadabad, Sultanabad and Gujardass and build capacity of relevant government agencies for adoption of WASEP approach. 

During the meeting, which was attended by government high officials and AKAH’s management, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan expressed appreciation for AKAH’s long-term commitment to improve the quality of life of communities in Gilgit-Baltistan through its award-winning and internationally acclaimed Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP).

The agreement builds on the success of WASEP and the strong partnership between AKAH and the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan to improve access to safe drinking water in Gilgit-Baltistan. Currently, AKAH is implementing a USD 2.7 million public-private partnership project which was signed in October, 2016 with the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan to provide safe drinking water to around 2,700 households in Jutial. In addition, AKAH has recently completed a public-private partnership project under which safe drinking water was provided to 70,000 people across all eight districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. 

Explaining the vision of AKAH in improving access to safe drinking water in Gilgit-Baltistan, Mr. Nawab Ali Khan expressed, “We want to continue our long-standing partnership with the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan to improve access to safe drinking water through the award-winning WASEP approach. The project will contribute in ensuring that the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan are able to consume safe drinking water and improve their quality of lives.”

For more information, please see the WASEP programme: http://www.akdn.org/our-agencies/aga-khan-agency-habitat/water-and-sanitation-extension-programme.

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