Accelerated Water and Sanitation Project in Selected Areas

dropped

The Project will provide investment and capacity-building support to increase access to safe water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and improve operational efficiency and quality of selected water and sanitation service providers. The project will support local government units (LGUs) and their service providers in the planning, preparation, and implementation of their WASH programs and projects. Capacity building will be provided to promote efficient and quality delivery of services through creation of autonomous local water enterprises, service level and tariff setting, and technical trainings such as on network and commercial management. The project will prioritize areas that are poor, lagging in WSS services, have high incidence of waterborne diseases, face high water security risk due to climate change and/or projects which have inter-jurisdictional externalities/economies of scale. Investment items to be financed include the rehabilitation, upgrading, construction and expansion of WASH facilities, such as: water supply sources including bulk water supply; water transmission and distribution networks including household connections; fecal sludge management; household sanitation facilities; and WASH facilities in public places like schools and health centers. The project will also demonstrate the implementation of some policy reforms that are part of an ongoing Development Policy Loan. These reforms will support the expected transition of the sector from its current fragmented state to a more structured organization, with clear mandates and integration of national and local government plans and programs. The project will feature funding and financing mechanisms that will feature partnerships between national and local governments and ultimately encourage private sector participation. Other sub-projects include project management and preparation of feasibility studies for the next priority areas.