WASHINGTON, May 22, 2015 – Zambia’s capital city is set to have improved public health through increased access to sanitation services supported by the World Bank Group through a US$65 million loan approved today by its Board of Executive Directors.
The financing, provided by the International Development Association (IDA*) is for the Lusaka Sanitation Project which is the Bank’s contribution to the Government’s Lusaka Sanitation Program (LSP). Four Development Partners including the World Bank are supporting the LSP which is one of the first steps towards implementing the Lusaka Sanitation Master Plan that aims for 100 percent sanitation coverage for Lusaka Province by 2035.
Through the Lusaka Sanitation Project, the World Bank will support sewage collection, on-site sanitation, and institutional strengthening of the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) which will implement the project.
“Development of good sanitation systems and coverage is essential for Zambia in order to improve the quality of life in line with the country’s aspiration to be a middle-income country by 2030,” says Kundhavi Kadiresan, the Bank’s Country Director for Zambia. “The Bank will therefore support Zambia with innovative sanitation technologies to benefit poor households in Lusaka,” she adds.
The project will use $38 million for sewerage improvements, specifically to upgrade and expand sewerage systems in the Ngwerere and Manchinchi sewersheds. Sewer networks will be expanded in Emmasdale, Chaisa, Chawama, Kuomboka and Garden neighborhoods and Kafue Road. The Ngwerere Western Interceptor and Ngwerere Downstream Collector will be upgraded, while the Ngwerere Sewage Ponds will be extended.
Lusaka has a number of peri-urban areas that are not likely to be sewered in the medium- to long-term due to technical and financial considerations. The project will therefore spend $14 million on on-site sanitation facilities, fecal sludge management infrastructure and service providers, construction of decentralized wastewater management systems, and sanitation and hygiene promotion. About 180,000 people are expected to benefit from on-site sanitation facilities.
The Bank’s Task Team Leader for the Project Michael Webster says in addition to infrastructure, the project will strengthen the capacity of the Government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, and LWSC to implement the project, operate and maintain the facilities going forward, and to support the reforms needed to deliver sanitation services effectively and efficiently.
“We have confidence that this project will help Lusaka Water respond better to customer demand, protect groundwater and avoid further water treatment costs that would have been passed onto our customers,” says George Ndongwe, Managing Director of LWSC.
The project is expected to be implemented over a period of five years, closing in December 2020.
