WASHINGTON, December 20, 2010 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today a loan in the amount of USD138.6 million for the Morocco Second Municipal Solid Waste Sector Development project
Building on a solid partnership over the past five years between the Government of Morocco and the World Bank aiming at reforming the solid waste sector, this project is the second in a programmatic series designed to provide financial support and to strengthen and sustain the impact of the municipal solid waste reform program in Morocco. The Government’s overarching program consists of three main strategic reform areas:
- enhance the governance of the sector;
- improve the sustainability of municipal solid waste services; and
- mainstream environmental and social dimensions.
“The reform program supported by this project aims at improving service delivery to citizens in this important sector, and promotes sustainable development in a changing climate. More specifically, It support Morocco’s efforts to improve the economic, environmental, and social performance of municipal solid waste systems”, noted Simon Gray, Country Director of the Maghreb Department.
The first project, approved in March 2009, supported the key foundations of the Government’s reform program, which established the enabling environment for an integrated and affordable municipal solid waste system. This second project supports Morocco’s efforts to capitalize on the results and the conducive environment created during the first project while deepening and consolidating the reforms at the regional and municipal levels.
Jaafar Friaa, Lead Urban Specialist in charge of this program said: “This project will help Morocco achieve better quality and access to municipal solid waste collection services for more than 90% of the urban population. In addition, it will ensure that 100% of collected waste in urban areas is disposed of in sanitary landfills, and will support the closure and/or rehabilitation of 300 open dumps and the sorting of 20% of recyclable materials”. “The program will also contribute to the upgrade of the existing Environmental Impact Assessment system and support municipalities in accessing the carbon market and contributing to the climate change mitigation agenda”, Jaafar Friaa added.
This program is consistent with the Morocco Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) and contributes to improving the sector governance through the promotion of productive relationships among the national and local agencies by building sustainable systems of incentives and support.
