WASHINGTON, December 10, 2010 – The World Bank Board of Directors approved additional financing worth US$30 million yesterday for the National Rural Water and Sanitation Program (PRONASAR) to expand the coverage and sustainability of water and sanitation services in rural areas of Peru.
Through this new loan, the World Bank supports the efforts undertaken by PRONASAR to guarantee that remote communities have access to more and better water and sanitation services. Moreover, this project will keep promoting the adoption of good hygiene practices through communications campaigns.
“To date, PRONASAR has managed to build and rehabilitate water and sanitation systems in 283 rural communities, decisively contributing to an improvement in the quality of life and health of the most vulnerable populations,” said Vanessa Vereau, General Coordinator of the National Rural Water and Sanitation Program Management Unit, part of Peru’s Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation.
This additional financing will provide clean water sources to close to 320,000 people in approximately 200 communities, through the expansion and repair of water supply systems with an emphasis on the creation and training of Management Committees for Sanitation Services (JASS) to guarantee service sustainability. New water supplies consist of piping networks with home connections, public pools, protection of springs, wells or rainwater capture systems, according to the preferences and possibilities of communities consulted in the process prior to construction.
“New facilities will be sustainable in the long term through efficient planning and skilled labor guaranteeing high quality water services, adequate training for those responsible for operations and expanded education on hygiene. These investments will contribute to the improvement of quality of life in rural communities,” said Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank Director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
The project is composed of three items:
- Finance the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of rural water and sanitation systems; provide on-site sanitation solutions, as well as technical assistance for the establishment of new Management Committees for Sanitation Services (JASS) and the reinforcement of existing ones to promote education on hygiene.
- Provide pilot technical assistance to establish specialized operators, as well as private or municipal cooperatives, in order to invest in management, rehabilitation, improvement and expansion of water supply and sanitation services.
- Strengthen the capacity of the Vice-Ministry of Sanitation and National Sanitation Directorate with regards to policies and regulatory functions related to rural sanitation, support district municipalities’ role in monitoring and controlling services and personnel training, and selected studies, as well as the establishment and maintenance of a Sectorial Information System.
This operation forms an integral part of a World Bank package that includes financing, technical assistance, knowledge, and coordination and notification services, in order to support the government and provide better solutions to the problem of water service shortages due to the effects of climate change, in an integral manner.
The total cost of this project is US$50.9 million, US$30 million of which will be financed by the World Bank and US$20.9 million by the government counterpart.
This investment loan has a variable interest rate (LIBOR), a short, 12-year maturity period, and includes an 11-year grace period. The finalization of this project is programmed for December, 2013.
