African Development Bank Approves $124.2 Million Loan for Water Sector Reforms in Akure to Improve Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

13 December 2019
Content from a Premium Partner
African Development Bank (Abidjan)

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank on Thursday approved a $ 124.2 million loan to finance the Urban Water Sector Reform and Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Nigeria. The amount includes an African Growing Together Fund (AGTF) loan of $20 million.

The overall project cost is $222.69 million and will span five years from 2020-2025.

The project is set to address bottlenecks in critical water supply services to households in the densely populated project area. It would provide residents of Akure city (Ondo State) and its environs, access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The project will strengthen the Federal Government's capacity to facilitate urban Water Supply and Sanitation reforms.

"The project will particularly contribute to improving the living conditions of the communities in the project area. Involving these communities in the public awareness and marketing activities, will increase the project's ownership and ensure they pay for the water supply and sanitation services," said Ebrima Faal, Senior Director at the Bank's Nigeria Regional Office.

The loan will also help to install sanitation infrastructure for schools, hospitals, markets.

On completion, the project will benefit the 1.3 million residents of Akure City and vicinities. At the Federal level, the project's Urban Water Reform component will establish a water and sanitation investment program that would contribute to scaling up of the National WASH Action plan 2018-2030.

The project, which combines "hard" water, sanitation and environmental protection infrastructure with "soft" analytical and institutional reform support, aligns with the Bank's Ten-Year Strategy (TYS) and its High 5s priority areas, the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Policy.

As at December 13 2019, the Bank's active portfolio in Nigeria comprised 61 operations, of which 54 are national and seven are regional. The total commitment to these projects is $4.8 billion and includes water and sanitation projects worth $606.0 million.

Contact:

Solange Kamuanga-Tossou |Communication and External Relations Department | African Development Bank

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

Tagged:
Copyright © 2019 African Development Bank. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.