Togo Urban Water Security (TUWS)

active

Prospective

Togo has abundant water resources, but their management in Greater Lome faces significant challenges, including vulnerability to climate change. Just half of the Togolese population has access to water supply services and only 16 percent to improved sanitation, among the lowest coverage levels in the region. The expansion of production capacity in Lome, necessary to the improvement of service coverage and quality, will require the development of large, capital intensive surface water development schemes. The water sector institutional framework has been reformed in 2014, but sector efficiency remains low and further improvements are still needed, in particular on regulation. The long-term sector financial viability is not guaranteed, due to a combination of low operational efficiency and insufficient tariff contribution to sector deficit.The proposed Project will focus on improving water and sanitation services, strengthening the water and sewerage services provider TdE (Togolaise des Eaux) to improve the sustainability of services and improving water resources management. The project will benefit a total of 950,000 people in Greater Lome. The entire population of the capital city currently connected to TdE water supply system, more than 750,000 people, is expected to benefit from improved quality of water supply services, in terms of service pressure and continuity. In addition, it is expected that 200,000 people in Greater Lome (more than half of which are women) will be connected to TdE water supply systems under the Project, gaining access to improved, climate-resilient water supply services. Finally, 110 schools and medical centers will gain access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. The proposed Project will have five components as follows:Component 1 will aim to improve access to safe water supply services in the Greater Lome and finance (i) the construction and rehabilitation of water production and treatment systems; (ii) the construction and rehabilitation of water storage facilities; (iii) the rehabilitation, replacement and expansion of water supply transmission and distribution systems; and (iv) supervision consultancies. It will include the creation of six autonomous water supply systems in the peripheral areas of Sanguera, Apessito, Kohe, Adeticope Est, Devego and Togblekope. Expansion of water production capacity is expected to be achieved from groundwater sources, through the construction of new boreholes and rehabilitation of existing ones.Component 2 is designed to contribute to the sustainability of water-related investments funded under Component 1 and will help improve the operational efficiency and financial viability of Togolaise des Eaux (TdE), the national water utility. The activities will include the mobilization of a technical assistance to help TdE reduce non-revenue water and improve customer management while strengthening its operational capacity. The component will also support the provision of studies and technical assistance to improve sector governance and assets management.Component 3 will support the construction and/or rehabilitation of WASH facilities in schools and Health Care Centers, including water taps connected to TdE network, gender-disaggregated latrines with septic tanks, handwashing stations, menstrual health hygiene (MHH) facilities, etc. The component will foresee the organization of awareness campaigns and the development of O&M plans to finance and maintain WASH services. The component will also support the formulation of a fecal sludge management strategy.Component 4 will aim to improve the understanding and management of water resources in Greater Lome. The activities include (i) the implementation of hydrological studies of Greater Lome’s coastal sedimentary aquifers to inform groundwater abstraction development and sustainable management plans; (ii) the identification of aquifer contamination risks around TdE boreholes and mitigation measures, (iii) development of water use and surface water and groundwater resources geographic information system, database and data collection system; (iv) implementation and rehabilitation of hydrological and piezometric monitoring stations; (v) training of Ministry of Water and Sanitation and other relevant authorities to collect, analyze, and publish water resource information. Component 5: Project management, sector studies and supervision will support MEA in project management. This will include, but not limited to, the operating cost of the PMU, project implementation technical assistance, and consultants that will support the design of sub-projects and sector studies.The proposed Project is aligned with the World Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Under the World Bank’s Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) 2022, High Level Objective 5 focuses on “increased resilience of poor and vulnerable to shocks and sustainability of natural capital”, with “access to water and sanitation” identified as one of the key action areas to achieve it. Many of the recommended priority actions (improving TdE’s operational capacity, strengthening the regulatory agency, improve knowledge of water resources in Lome) are directly supported under the proposed project. The first consultations for the preparation of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) 2023-2027 have reconfirmed the importance of water security, in particular as a key contributor to food security.

FY17 - Water, Sanitation and Waste Management

World Bank Group

Project

Water Supply and Storage, Power Transmission, Waste Processing and Treatment, Hospital, Power Generation (CCGT), Government