ISLAMABAD, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 275-million-U.S. dollar loan to help Pakistan build an irrigation system in Punjab Province to increase agricultural production, the development bank said on Friday.
According to the ADB, the Jalalpur irrigation project will build a new seasonal irrigation system and convert over 68,000 hectares of less productive, predominantly rain-fed land to irrigated land by drawing water from the Jhelum River.
It said that the project will construct a diversion structure, a 117-km main canal, 97-km secondary and tertiary canals, and 485 watercourses. It will also assist in forming 485 water user associations and involve them in planning, designing, and constructing watercourses, according to Manila-based lender.
Punjab is the major agricultural province in Pakistan and contributes about 80 percent of the country's agricultural output.
