WASHINGTON, January 12, 2015 – The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a new US$80 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA*) to help Burkina Faso expand access to clean water and sanitation services for the poor in the urban communities surrounding the capital city of Ouagadougou.
The additional financing will be used to scale-up components of the ongoing Burkina Faso Urban Water Sector Project (UWSP).
Approved by the Board in 2009, the UWSP has already achieved key development results including providing 434,000 additional people access to piped water and 403,000 additional people access to improved sanitation services. The urban water sector reform supported by the project is also being successfully implemented. The operational management capacity has substantially improved and the National Water and Sanitation Agency (Office National de l’Eau et de l’Assainissement - ONEA) is today ranked among the top performing water utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Working together with ONEA the UWSP project has made great achievements in increasing the distribution of clean water to urban areas, however Ouagadougou’s recent population growth has created unanticipated challenges in providing water to its residents—many of whom are low-income families,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Manager for Burkina Faso. “Today’s additional financing will build on the original project’s positive momentum by helping to improve the city’s water transmission/distribution system which is vital to expanding capacity to provide clean water for both new and existing customers.”
The scaling up of the UWSP activities will enable the country to benefit roughly 1.1 million people living in urban areas and informal settlements around Ouagadougou. In particular this additional financing will focus on developing the water distribution system to improve quality of service and make clean water available to previously underserved areas. It will help finance the construction of secondary and tertiary water distribution pipes and about 26,000 water service connections and 80 public standpipes.
“The additional financing will help build new water transmission lines, storage tanks and pumping stations to make clean water available throughout Ouagadougou, providing almost 760,000 people with access to improved water sources,” said Matar Fall World Bank Task Team Leader for this project. “It will also promote access to water for informal settlements where, until recently, water services were not provided.”
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 77 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change for 2.8 billion people living on less than $2 a day. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 112 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $18 billion over the last three years, with about 50 percent going to Africa.
