Water Security and Resilience Program

active

The overall objective of the proposed Program is to increase equitable access to safe water and sanitation services and to improve service delivery. This objective is expected to be achieved over a 12-year period through a series of Projects (SoPs), of which the operation detailed in this document is the first. The programmatic approach will ensure continuity of the sector engagement and also facilitate a sustained contribution to the Bank’s ongoing support to the water sector in WB&G. The proposed Program will have strong links to the water sector interventions co-financed by the World Bank and the Partnership for Infrastructure Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PID MDTF) that play a crucial role in addressing the challenges in the sector and critical water services in priority areas under the first project, while also laying the basis for rebuilding better in the long-term. The Program is expected to consist of three projects, to be financed by the Bank and other donors, that will overlap in time and vary in geography, with a consistent component-level design to facilitate scaling up. The three projects are expected to commence in 2023, 2025, and 2029. The anticipated duration of the first project is five years while the duration of subsequent projects is expected to be six years each, with overlapping periods. Overall SOP completion is expected by 2035.The focus of the proposed SoP-1 will be on improving water services in line with the PWA’s priorities and the water sector’s strategic development plan and desire to improve water services in areas with the lowest water per capita and improve service providers operational and financial performance. In order to address the long-term structural challenges of lack of water supply, and contribute to a resilient and sustainable recovery, the project will also undertake strategic sector reform and capacity building activities supporting water sector institutions, encouraging a robust reform agenda and providing targeted technical support for improved management of O&M toward financial sustainability of the sector and contribute to the improvement and containment of and bolster the water sector’s resilience to future disasters such as COVID-19. Project Components: The Project will consist of four components:Component 1 - Improvement of Water and Wastewater Infrastructure and Service Management: the project will finance investments in the water and wastewater facilities. The aim of these investments is to provide safely managed water supply services to unserved population and ensure efficiency of the operation and maintenance of existing wastewater treatment plants. This component will finance the implementation of the water supply infrastructure required to improve access to and quality of water supply in North Jenin including expansion of water distribution networks to remove critical bottlenecks and improve water allocation in selected areas in WB&G. The project will also invest in the operation and maintenance of the Hebron wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to ensure the efficiency of the plant performance.Component 2. Improvement of Water Sector Institutions Performance: This component will finance goods, works and services to enhance strengthen the water institutions' capacity and the Service providers (SPs’) operational and financial efficiency, and their responsiveness emergencies. It will also provide necessary technical assistance and capacity building activities to address sector challenges, support sector reform and improve the social accountability of service providers through the following subcomponents: (a) Sector Reform and Strategic Planning; (b) Improve Financial and Operational Performance of the Service Providers; (c) Improve Social Accountability of Service Providers. Component 3 - Project Management and Monitoring: This component will support the Project Coordination Team (PCU) hosted within PWA and the staff in the field that will coordinate, implement, monitor and report on the project implementation progress. It will also support the Project Management Unit (PMU) staff that will monitor the Hebron WWTP until the project closes in December 2023.Component 4 - Contingent Emergency Response Component:This component will improve the PA’s ability to respond effectively in the event of an emergency in line with World Bank disaster prevention and preparedness procedures.