WASHINGTON, April 23, 2015 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a US$102.5 million loan to finance the Guayaquil Waste Water Management Project. The project seeks to increase access to improved sanitation services and reduce waste water pollution among vulnerable sectors in the city of Guayaquil, which has close to one million inhabitants.
Ecuador’s Minister of Finance, Fausto Herrera, highlighted the importance of this line of financing for the Municipality of Guayaquil, to which his Ministry has granted sovereign guarantee. “It is the decision of the National Government to provide all necessary support to ensure that Decentralized Autonomous Governments, independently of their political actions, are able to provide services to benefit local development and all citizens,” he said.
The project will also indirectly benefit all residents of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s biggest city and economic capital. The project will help improve the treatment of waste water and its adequate disposal, contributing to a reduction of pollution in rivers and estuaries.
“The objective of this project is to provide universal sustainable access to a sewer system for the south of Guayaquil, benefitting more than one million residents. While improving the population’s living conditions, it will also optimize the environmental and ecological situation of the water bodies around Guayaquil, the Guayas River and the Salado Estuary,” said Jose Luis Santos, Manager of the Municipal Water and Sewer Company of Guayaquil, EMAPAG EP.
The project will cover three main components:
- Installation of household connections, benefitting approximately 30,000 families, reaching a 100 percent sewer system connectivity rate in the south of Guayaquil.
- Rehabilitation of the sewer network in Guayaquil’s “Suburbio Oeste”, with the objective of improving the quality of life for more than 65,000 families, contributing to a reduction in the pollution of the Salado Estuary through residential sewers.
- Treatment of waste water and its adequate disposal for the entire Southern Guayaquil sewer system, benefitting around one million people. The project includes the construction of a great pumping station.
“The Gulf of Guayaquil constitutes a rich ecosystem of great importance to Ecuador in environmental and economic terms. The Project approved today will help improve and maintain this strategic resource for the country, as well as improve the living conditions of vulnerable families in certain sectors of the city,” said Alberto Rodriguez, World Bank Director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
The project will cost a total of US$247.80 million. The World Bank will provide US$102.5 million, the European Investment Bank a further US$102.5 million, and Guayaquil Municipality, via EMAPAG EP, US$42.80 million. The project has an implementation period of five years. The World Bank’s financing has a 35-year maturity period with a 15-year grace period.
Last Updated: Apr 22, 2015
