Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Improvement Sector Development Program

Active

The program will be aligned with the following impact: ensure availability and sustainability management of water and sanitation for all (Cambodia Sustainable Development Goal 6). The outcome will be improved access to safely managed and affordable drinking water, sanitation services and hygiene facilities for rural areas in nine project provinces. A sector development program, consisting of an investment loan (project component) and a policy-based loan (program component) is the most appropriate modality, given the critical policy actions required to further strengthen the ongoing sector reforms, and to compliment the government's commitment to expanding RWSS access and services to ensure that rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene development targets are met. The proposed reforms will include actions to cope with potential future development and growth, while leveraging difficult and critical water sector reforms, improve interministerial and/or interinstitutional coordination in the WASH sector. The project component will expand RWSS access in at least 18 districts in 9 provinces, benefiting about 580,000 people. The project is expected to use a sector lending approach. RGC proposed that the following provinces are to be covered under the project component: (i) Banteay Meanchey, (ii) Battambang, (iii) Kampong Speu, (iv) Kampot, (v) Kratie, (vi) Otdar Meanchey, (vii) Pailin, (viii) Preah Vihear and (ix) Stung Treng. The program will be formulated to cover policy reforms to address among others: (i) inequalities to rural WASH services, (ii) inadequate operation and maintenance and the absence of tariff setting guidance, (iii) limited capacities of subnational administration to plan and deliver WASH services, and (iv) unclear mandate and limited interministerial/interinstitutional coordination and collaboration.