ABIDJAN, Côte d'Ivoire, 01 February 2017 / PRN Africa / -- The African Water Facility (AWF) provided a grant of close to €2 million to the Government of the Republic of Rwanda to support the development of a 25-year national water supply and sanitation masterplans that will guide the achievement of national universal access for water supply and sanitation through the identification of effective water supply and sanitation projects. The grant will also go towards building various water stakeholders' capacities to plan, design, finance, implement and manage water and sanitation projects and infrastructure. Ultimately, the project will benefit the people of Rwanda through improved water supply and sanitation services, improved environmental conditions resulting in improved standards of living. The local economy will also gain from a better Water and Sanitation sector management as local farmers and industries will have improved access to water for production and reduced production cost.

A 25-year Masterplan to maximize effectiveness. The newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, Goal 6, have set 2030 as the target timeframe to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water and access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all. The Republic of Rwanda has made remarkable progress in recent years in increasing access to improved water and sanitation services. However, the rate of increase is still insufficient to achieve the country's Vision 2020 targets. Hence, the project seeks to support the development of a 25-year integrated national water supply and sanitation master plans to guide the achievement of 100% access to water supply through the identification of effective water supply and sanitation projects. It will also help Rwanda to maximise effectiveness and efficiency of future investments in water supply and sanitation in order to attract additional funds for these investments. The total project costs amounts to € 2.25 million of which the AWF will contribute € 1.95 million with the Government of Rwanda financing about 13% of the total project costs. The project duration is estimated at 24 months. The project's main outputs include Integrated National Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plans agreed by all stakeholders, an approved list of prioritised integrated WatSan projects, a 10-year investment plan and improved capacities among stakeholders for better management and implementation of WatSan projects and systems.

Building Private Sector Capacity for Better WSS Management. Private operators working in rural areas are often not yet fully professionalised whereas District staff who may have appropriate levels of education, are often short on specific Public Private Partnership and Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) field experience. The AWF supported project seeks to develop and deliver a comprehensive capacity-building programme that targets Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), 30 districts and private operators' staff. This programme will ensure that the gains made with the increase in improved water and sanitation access rates are preserved, best practices from national water and sanitation programmes mainstreamed, and decentralized implementation capacities strengthened. Ultimately, the project will benefit the entire Rwandese population through improved water supply and sanitation services, improved environmental conditions resulting in improved standards of living. The local economy will also benefit from the project through improved access to water for production allowing the reduction of production costs and enhanced growth.

SOURCE African Development Bank (AfDB)