4 September 2014
August Water Finance Update
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During the month of August, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) issued loans or grants for projects in Laos PDR, Cameroon, South Africa, Armenia and Romania.

The World Bank also reported on the implementation of projects in Viet Nam, Zimbabwe and India.

erdb-wb-gef-adb-afdb31 August 2014: During the month of August, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) issued loans or grants for projects in Laos PDR, Cameroon, South Africa, Armenia and Romania. The World Bank also reported on the implementation of projects in Viet Nam, Zimbabwe and India.

The World Bank highlighted its efforts in Viet Nam, in particular, a long-term programme in the Mekong Delta to enhance resilient decision-making processes through development of a decision support framework that combines climate modeling with regional development and planning data to identify options. The system allows policy makers and local communities to better understand decisions in the context of changing patterns of water variability. [World Bank Press Release]

The World Bank also outlined outcomes of a US$2.65 project in Zimbabwe titled ‘Emergency Water and Sanitation Rehabilitation Programme in Beitbridge Town,’ which responds to high rates of water born illness in major towns in Zimbabwe. Increasing access to water from zero to 70% in the Beitbridge Town, the project is now supporting water and sanitation service-level benchmarking (SLB) in 32 urban areas to allow local authorities to judge the success of service delivery and improve accountability. [World Bank Press Release]

The benefits of the recently-completed Rampur Hydropower Project in India, were also underscored by the World Bank. The project, a run-of-the-river hydropower plant on the Satluj, a tributary of the Indus River, generates 412 megawatts (MW) of electricity, preventing the release of 1.4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. With low levels of displacement, only 29 families were resettled, the project also helped villages in the region develop infrastructure including irrigation canals and bridges. The project also included the planting of 100,000 trees in the Satluj catchment and minimum flows in the river will be ensured. [World Bank Press Release 1] [World Bank Press Release 2]

The World Bank and Laos PDR signed an agreement for US$17.8 million in additional funding for the ‘Technical Assistance for Capacity Building in the Hydropower and Mining Sectors Project.’ The project aims to contribute to socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability in these economically-important sectors. [World Bank Press Release]

Armenia’s road and water infrastructure will be bolstered by a US$49 million loan and a US$900,000 technical assistance grant approved by ADB. The project aims to address lack of investment and maintenance and challenges posed by a fragmented regulatory and policy environment in the water service sector, which has resulted in a situation where half of the water service infrastructure requires upgrading and access to piped water is lacking in rural areas. The loan comes from ADB’s Infrastructure Sustainability Support Program and the technical assistance grant will provide capacity building and promote policy reform to complement infrastructure upgrades. [ADB Press Release]

The GEF CEO endorsed a project through the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), titled ‘Enhancing the Resilience of Poor Communities to Urban Flooding in Yaoundé.’ The project, which will take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, will channel funding through AfDB to the Yaoundé Urban Council. [GEF Project Detail]

AfDB, through the African Water Facility (AWF), approved an EUR1.3 million grant to the Water Research Commission (WRC) in South Africa for a project that aims to improve access to water for domestic purposes and agriculture of over 20,000 people. The project will use a Multiple Use Services (MUS) approach that accounts for various water needs of local communities and results in the design of systems, including wells, boreholes, rainwater harvesting infrastructure and water treatment facilities, that can be used to meet multiple needs. The project, which includes capacity building and awareness raising components, aims to serve as test case for the future up-scaling of the MUS approach across South Africa. [AfDB Press Release]

AfDB’s AWF and the AfDB East Africa Regional Resource Center held a project management training in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4-8 August 2014. The workshop helped grantees to address project management and implementation challenges, and provided participants with an opportunity to discuss constraints and difficulties, as well as recommendations to improving monitoring and reporting requirements. [AfDB Press Release]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU Cohesion Fund are providing EUR10 million and EUR47.5 million respectively for ongoing projects to upgrade water and wastewater services in Romania. Provided to one of the largest water utilities, SC Raja SA Constanta, the funds will provide safe water to 10,000 people and connect 20,000 to sewerage networks in Constanta, Ialomita and Ilfov. The project is part of the Romania EU Cohesion Fund Water Co-Financing Framework (R2CF), which was launched in 2010 and has mobilized EUR2 billion in EU funds for water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) facilities in Romania. [EBRD Press Release]