ISLAMABAD: The Government of Japan Wednesday agreed to provide grant assistance of 471 million Japanese Yen (JPY) to UN-Habitat for the project of “The Improvement of Disaster Resilient Schools Infrastructure” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, aiming to provide a safe and stable educational environment to the students as well as the teachers. According to a press release, notes to this effect were signed and exchanged between Matsuda Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan and Koresawa Atsushi, Regional Representative, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of UN-Habitat in Fukuoka, Japan. A Grant Agreement (G/A) on the details of implementation of the project was signed and exchanged between Director General, South Asia Department of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Sakamoto Takema, and Koresawa Atsushi. The grant amount of 471 million Japanese Yen would be utilized by UN-Habitat for the improvement of Disaster Resilient Schools Infrastructure in the province of KPK. The project would support reconstruction and retrofitting and repairing of 150 schools and construction of 12 new schools. Expressing his views at the signing of the project, Ambassador Matsuda has said that “This project will not only provide disaster-resistant infrastructure of schools in KPK province but will also prove a disaster prevention hub for the region. The Ambassador, while emphasizing the need of disaster-preparedness, stated that it is extremely important to prepare and well-equip to effectively handle the disaster emergencies. The ambassador also reaffirmed that Japan will continue to support Pakistan for further strengthening its institution disaster management and also improving the facilities in education sector.