Uzbekistan: Rural Infrastructure Development Project (Previously: Prosperous Villages Project)

approved

This is a multi-sectoral rural infrastructure project. The project has the following two components. Component 1: Demand-driven Investments in Basic Infrastructure and Services. The Project will finance sub-projects comprising investments in basic infrastructure and services which will be planned and prioritized jointly by participating district administrations and communities. The types of investments will include: access to water supply for drinking, irrigation, and agricultural production; sanitation services; rehabilitation of social facilities; rehabilitation of roads, footpaths and bridges; rural electrification, and energy efficiency improvements. Investments are subject to a negative list that includes housing construction and renovation or any investments that require physical displacement or resettlement of people. Component 2: Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Institutional Support. This component will support a project implementation structure within the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction (MoEDPR). The component will provide financing for operational costs, consultants, essential equipment, technical assistance, and training. Funding will also be provided for information dissemination, beneficiary assessments, periodic surveys, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities, a management information system (MIS), project audits, and a project-level grievance redress mechanism (GRM) that will handle grievances.