CDM to Reconstruct Earthquake-Damaged Areas in Pakistan
November 01, 2006
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN—The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded CDM a 5-year, $120 million design-build contract to reconstruct schools and health clinics, including hospitals, in the earthquake-affected areas of the Northwest Frontier Province and Azad Jammu Kashmir in Pakistan. As USAID's implementing partner for the Pakistan Earthquake Reconstruction and Recovery Program, CDM will conduct community outreach and capacity-building, prepare site assessments, develop building designs, construct facilities, provide quality control, and support reconstruction-related events.
During the first year, construction will begin on 50 schools and 15 healthcare facilities. All buildings will meet internationally recognized earthquake-resistant standards and provide access for the handicapped. Throughout the program, USAID and CDM will work closely with Pakistan's Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to rebuild communities and strengthen economic well-being in the earthquake-affected areas.
"This is an important milestone in the USAID response to earthquake reconstruction in Pakistan," said USAID Pakistan Mission Director Jonathan Addleton. "USAID-funded support programs in health, education, and livelihoods have already been launched. Now our major contribution to the physical reconstruction of schools and health facilities in the earthquake-affected region can begin as well."
CDM's J. Ellis Turner, senior vice president and contract manager, adds, "We appreciate USAID's continued confidence in CDM to support these critical recovery and community rebuilding programs after natural disasters and civil conflicts. All of us look forward not only to helping USAID construct schools, health facilities, and other vital facilities in Pakistan, but also to restoring hope among the millions of people affected by the devastating quake."
The massive October 2005 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.6, claimed more than 73,000 lives; injured more than 128,000 people; and left millions homeless and without schools, health clinics, and shops across a vast mountainous region in northern Pakistan.