Kyrgyz Republic: Water Supply and Sanitation Universal Access Program-1 Project

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The proposed operation is aimed at providing universal access and improving the sustainability of water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in the Kyrgyz Republic through a partnership involving the Government of Kyrgyzstan, the World Bank, other development partners, and the private sector. This partnership will be operationalized through a Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA) using Investment Project Financing (IPF) lending instruments with some performance-based grants (PBGs). The MPA program is structured as a 10-year engagement through three IPF operations/phases to achieve the Program Development Objective. The MPA program includes: (i) a four-year Phase 1 (2024-2029) of focused investment covering unserved rural settlements while consolidating the service delivery structure into district-level Water and Sanitation Service Provider (DWSSPs) on a pilot basis and enhancing the service delivery capacity using PBGs, few and simpler sanitation interventions, complemented by extensive analysis and design of more complex sanitation solutions, including paving the way for potential private sector engagement; (ii) a three-year Phase 2 (2028-2032) to scale-up the investments, shifting to water supply infrastructure upgrade and expansion, priority sewerage investments and scale-up the service delivery models, with a focus on operational and financial efficiency, and climate adaptation; and (iii) a three-year Phase 3 (2031-2034) to scale-up sanitation investments, and consolidate the water supply improvements, with a strong emphasis on knowledge exchange and appropriation of the policies, plans, and tools developed under the previous two phases. Phase 1 project will comprise five components: Component 1 - Water Supply Investments - will finance the construction of new water supply systems in unserved rural villages as well as the upgrade of existing water supply systems in district centers and small towns in priority country areas; Component 2 - Sanitation Development - will finance the construction and/or rehabilitation/retrofitting of decentralized sanitation systems, including toilet upgrades for vulnerable households and selected public institutions (schools, kindergartens, health centers), including Technical Assistance (TA) to design more complex sewage improvements in subsequent phases; Component 3 - Performance-based Service Improvement Program - will finance PBGs to selected water sector institutions to implement their institutional and WSS services development plans and improve the sustainability of WSS services, Component 4 - MPA Program Structuring and Management - will support the establishment of a program management framework and WSS infrastructure development capacity; and Component 5- Contingency Emergency Response.The risk classification and assessment provided in this ESRS covers only Phase 1 of the MPA.