The government of Somalia has signed two grants totalling US $28.8m with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for road and water supply projects to improve livelihoods in Somalia and boost resilience. Somalia’s deputy finance minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ali signed for his country and Nnenna Nwabufo, deputy director general, East Africa signed for the Bank Group.
Present at the event were Somali ministers for public works, housing and reconstruction, and energy and water resources, representatives from South West and Jubbaland states and the International Organisation for Migration.
The grant comprises of; US $11.99m for the Kismayo Baidoa urban water project and US $16.86m to partly finance a US $66.7m road. Nnenna Nwabufo said that the Bank plans to launch the two projects in mid-September.
Road and water project
The road project involves rehabilitation of 355km of regional road networks. It is expected to boost productivity, improve living standards, increase inter-regional trade, cut the cost of doing business and create jobs, especially during implementation.
The Kismayo Baidoa urban water supply project will improve quality of life, inclusiveness and resilience through increased access to safe water, as well as improved sanitation and water delivery services in Kismayo in Jubbaland state and Baidoa in South West state.
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The two projects, which are also consistent with the key objectives of Somalia’s National Development Plan, will be implemented within the framework of the multi-Partner Somalia infrastructure fund managed by the Bank. The Bank’s total approved and ongoing portfolio in Somalia is about US $143.7m, spanning governance, institutional support, capacity building, agriculture, transport, and social sectors.
National Development Plan (NDP)
The National Development Plan (NDP) for Somalia covers the fiscal period 2017 to 2019. It is the first NDP crafted by the central government of Somalia since 1986. The NDP stipulates the Somalia‘s short to medium term strategic direction, development priorities and proposed implementation mechanisms including the use of development aid.
The theme of the NDP is to accelerate socio-economic transformation in order to achieve the stated objectives for poverty alleviation, economic revival and societal transformation in a socially just and gender equitable manner.
