The government of Ivory Coast has approved a loan of US $150m from the International Development Association (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank intended to finance a drinking water and sanitation project in 12 cities in the country.
Sidi Touré, Minister of Communication and Media, and Government Spokesman made the announcement and said that the funds will finance the implementation of Phase II of the Project to Strengthen Urban Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation (Premu).
The 12 cities set to benefit from the project include; Tiassalé, N’Douci, N’Zianouan, Agboville, Korhogo, Ferkessédougou, Bingerville, Béoumi, Issia, Dabou, Niakara and Songon.
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Project to Strengthen Urban Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation
The project involves construction of a water purification unit with a capacity of 500 m3 per hour in the towns of Tiassalé, Sikensi, N’Douci and N’Zianouan. This system will be connected to a raised tank with a capacity of 1,000 m3 via a 45 km long pipe. The government also plans to extend the drinking water distribution network by 35 km, which will allow 3,000 social connections to be made.
In Agboville in eastern Ivory Coast, Phase II of the Premu will provide a drinking water supply system that will be able to supply 500 m3 per hour. The government will also lay 6 km of pipelines, extend the secondary and tertiary water distribution network by 70 km and build 2,000 social connections.
The cities of Korhogo and Ferkessédougou will use the same water intake. To then transport the natural resource along a raw water supply pipe that will be rehabilitated over at least 10 km to Korhogo. An 11 km transfer line will be installed to transport part of the water to Ferkessédougou. On the spot, the government will build a drinking water plant and extend the distribution network to enable 500 social connections to be made.
The project, which began in July 2019 and is expected to be completed in April 2024. According to Fadel Ndaw, senior water and sanitation sector specialist at the World Bank, the project is estimated to provide 1.2 million 1.2 million people with improved drinking water services and 90,000 students with access to sanitation and hygiene in their schools
