LUANDA, March 10, 2017— Today, the World Bank approved a $200 million loan to provide more than 950,000 people with access to piped water services over seven years. The Second Water Sector Institutional Development Project (WSIDP II) will be implemented in nine targeted provincial cities in Angola. Women and girls, in particular, will benefit from this water service expansion through reduced time spent collecting water. The project will also strengthen the institutional capacity of selected water sector agencies.
“The project will finance strategic institutional development activities and priority water supply investment. It seeks to harness the momentum created under WSIDP I and will deepen and expand the development impacts previous engagements. The project will include activities designed to strengthen water sector institutions, including regulatory capacity, utility operations, and water resource management,” said Camilo Lombana Cordoba, World Bank Task Team Leader of the Project.
The World Bank has been involved in the water service sector in Angola since 2007, supporting investments in the water sector with WSIDP I, which provided emergency infrastructure and compensated for decades of underinvestment and deterioration. WSIDP II will continue to support and enhance the benefits of WSIDP I.
“Through this project, the World Bank supports the Government of Angola’s water program, which in addition to improving access, emphasizes the institutional development of the water supply sector,” said Clara de Sousa, World Bank Country Director for Angola and São Tomé & Principe.
The National Water Resources Institute, the National Institute of Water and Electricity Regulation, and the National Directorate for Water among other water sector agencies are selected for this project. Most of them are recently established or have recently incorporated new responsibilities for water and require technical assistance for defining responsibilities and human-resource development.
The project will be co-financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through a Euro-denominated loan of US$150 million equivalent, and by the Government of Angola through a $95 million counterpart contribution.
