700 houses to be built quake-affectees, says ERRA Chief
By Bushra Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Deputy Chairman, Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA), Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmad Thursday said 700 houses will be built in the next two to three months in the first phase of rehabilitation efforts aimed at catering the housing needs of the people of Balakot.
He was speaking at a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on construction of 700 houses in Balakot with the financial help of Kuwait Joint Relief Committee (KJRC). The MoU was signed by a representative of the ERRA Brig Waqar Iqbal Raja and KJRC General Secretary Faisal Al-Jeeran.
Lt-Gen Nadeem said the housing units to be built in Balakot would have two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom and they would be comfortable in both summer and winter seasons. He said the builders have been shortlisted and the construction work might start in the next week.
A new city of Balakot would be developed in the area of Bakrayal in the next three to four years, he said. The ERRA Chief said new construction could not be undertaken on the same location in Balakot as it was identified as red zone in the seismic survey.
The new houses would be earthquake-resistant and the area of Bakrayal was considered safe from earthquake shocks, he said. Lt-Gen Nadeem said the KJRC would also build schools to help children continue their studies besides building mosques in the area.
He said the federal government was also preparing a proposal to acquire land for construction of another 4,000 houses to be sponsored by Saudi Arabia which would be presented to the NWFP government. The ERRA Chief said the NWFP government could amend the proposal if necessary and after its final approval land would be acquired to build housing units.
He said Libya has also pledged to build houses in quake-hit areas and if there was any delay in provision of fund, he added, the government would itself start construction work and the amount would be settled after receiving financial aid from Libya. The ERRA Chief said the foreign donors have been asked to provide consistent financial aid to continue the rehabilitation phase at a faster pace.
Ambassador of Kuwait to Pakistan Faisal Abdul Aziz Al-Melefi said Kuwait would extend all out support to help rehabilitate the quake-hit people.
He said the people of Kuwait considered Pakistan as a 'home away home' and they shared the sentiments and grief of the Pakistani people after the devastating October 8 earthquake.
Melefi said Pakistan stood by the people of Kuwait in 1990 during the Iraq invasion and the friendly ties between the two countries continued to grow with the passage of time.
He said all arrangements have been made to start construction work on housing units next week in Balakot which would be completed in shortest possible time.