Pakistan PM: Floods caused Rs855 billion loss

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said Pakistan suffered a loss of Rs855 billion ($10 billion USD) to the economy due to the worst floods last year.

“The worst affected sector was agriculture that suffered loss of around Rs429 billion, followed by housing (Rs135 billion), Transport and Communications (Rs113 billion) and financial sector (Rs57 billion),” the prime minister said in his opening remarks at the outset of National Economic Council that met here with his chair. ...

He said the federal government had to enforce a cut of Rs100 billion in its development budget. “The provincial governments also managed savings in their respective budgets to provide rescue, relief and rehabilitation work,” he added.