Second National Urban Water Sector Reform Project

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The Second National urban Water Sector Reform Project for Nigeria aims to: (i) improve reliability of water supply produced by the water treatment works in Lagos; (ii) increase access to piped water networks in four cities in Cross River State; and (iii) improve commercial viability of t he urban water utilities in Cross River and Lagos States. The Project will be implemented in two states in Nigeria: Lagos and Cross River. Given the development objectives described above, the Project emphasizes financing for water system rehabilitation, increasing treatment capacity and adding household and standpipe connections. The Project's components were selected on the basis of: (i) professional engineering assessments of the water systems' conditions in the states; (ii) public opinion polls carried out during preparation that signaled public participation would ensure the transparency of the water sector reform while fostering accountability of water delivery to consumers; and (iii) the observation from Cross River State that private sector intervention is a proven methodology for restoring financial sustainability. For the Rehabilitation and Network Expansion component, the principal target groups are the water authorities' customers. Service Sustainability component will assist the utilities to function at increasing efficiency and self-sustainability. The State Water Authority (SWAs) and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR) will benefit from the Institutional Development and Policy Reform.