By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $124.2 million loan to finance the urban water sector reform in Akure, Ondo State as part of its supply and sanitation projects in Nigeria.
This was revealed in a statement issued by Mr Ebrima Faal, Senior Director at the bank’s Nigeria Regional Office on Friday, where he added that the amount includes an African Growing Together Fund (AGTF) loan of $20 million.
It was further disclosed that the overall project cost is $222.69 million and would span through five years from 2020 to 2025.
The statement also added that the project was set to address major problems in critical water supply services to households in the densely populated project area.
Mr Faal said that the project would strengthen the federal government’s capacity to facilitate urban water supply and sanitation reforms.
“It would provide residents of Akure city in Ondo State and its environs access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
“The project will particularly contribute to improving the living conditions of the communities in the project area.
“Involving these communities in the public awareness and marketing activities will increase the project’s ownership and ensure they pay for the water supply and sanitation services,” he said.
The statement also noted that the loan would help to install sanitation infrastructure for schools, hospitals and markets.
“On completion, the project will benefit the 1.3 million residents of Akure city and vicinities.
“At the federal level, the project’s Urban Water Reform component will establish a water and sanitation investment programme that would contribute to scaling up of the National WASH Action plan 2018 to 2030.
“The project which combines hard water, sanitation and environmental protection infrastructure with soft analytical and institutional reform support, aligns with AfDB’s 10-year strategy and High 5s priority areas,” Mr Faal said.
AfDB pointed out that as at December 13, 2019, the bank’s active portfolio in Nigeria comprised 61 operations, of which 54 were national and seven were regional amounting to a total of $4.8 billion.
Modupe Gbadeyanka