Thursday, February 17 2005 22:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Board of Directors today (Feb 17, 2005) approved the setting up of a multi-donor Asian Tsunami Fund with its contribution of $ 600 million to deliver prompt emergency funding to tsunami-affected countries like India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The Fund will pool and deliver grants for emergency technical assistance and investment projects to support reconstruction and rehabilitation in tsunami-hit nations.

"We see this as a mechanism to attract funds from multiple donors for a structured, systematic and transparent flow of funds to tsunami-affected countries, while upholding the strongest standards of governance," Philip Erquiaga, Principal Director of ADB's Office of Cofinancing Operations, said in a statement from Manila.

ADB will accept contributions to the Fund from bilateral, multilateral and individual sources.

The money will be used exclusively for prompt restoration of services to the affected people.

The sectors which would get assistance are, public services such as water supply and sanitation, electricity and communications, infrastructure such as roads, railways, and ports, health and education services, agriculture and fisheries, housing, restoring livelihoods, and containment of environmental damage.

ADB is working with Governments to expeditiously deliver the assistance packages at country-level.

Resources from the Fund will be made available to the tsunami-affected countries based on the outcomes of needs' assessment activities that ADB has been carrying out jointly with the World Bank, UN system, and other agencies.