WASHINGTON, June 27, 2019 — The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved $150 million in additional financing for the water and sanitation sector in Côte d’Ivoire.
“This financing will help Côte d’Ivoire improve its water supply and sanitation services for the poorest and create an enabling environment for private financing in a capital-intensive sector, by building the capacity of the actors and strengthening the performance of water utilities in urban areas,” noted Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire.
Approximately CFAF 86 billion has been made available by the World Bank under Phase II of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PREMU). This financing aims to provide access to safe drinking water and construct hygiene facilities—or upgrade existing ones—in hundreds of schools, as well as provide water supply services to over 1 million people.
Fadel Ndaw, Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist at the World Bank, said that “the project will be implemented between July 2019 and April 2024 and will, in particular, provide improved water services for 1.2 million people in 12 secondary cities in Côte d’Ivoire and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools for 90,000 students.”
This project will also help reduce water loss and increase water access in the poorest communities in the southern part of Abidjan, the country’s economic capital.
Currently 56% of Cote d’Ivoire’s population (estimated at 23.5 million in 2014) is living in urban areas and urban growth continues apace at an annual rate of 5%. The urban population will account for two-thirds of the national population by 2050.
