The World Bank has announced the approval of a loan of CFAF 86 billion ($150 million) to support a drinking water and sanitation project in 12 secondary cities in Ivory Coast.
The World Bank’s Executive Board recently approved a $450 million loan to support two development projects in Ivory Coast. This involves the construction of a bus line linking the city of Abidjan and Bingerville, a secondary city.
Part of this financing, CFAF 86.6 billion ($150 million), is earmarked for Phase II of the Strengthening Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project (dubbed PREMU in French). The overall aim of the project is to improve water quality and increase access to water services in targeted urban areas.
Several targeted secondary cities
According to Pierre Laporte, World Bank Director of Operations for Ivory Coast, the urban water and sanitation project (PREMU) will also help to “create an enabling environment for private sector participation in a capital-intensive sector, through capacity building for stakeholders and improving the performance of public water services in urban areas”. This includes capacity building for managers of the National Drinking Water Office (Onep) of Ivory Coast, particularly in financial planning.
The PREMU targets a total of 12 secondary cities in the country. The project is much awaited in the cities of Agboville, Bingerville, Tiassalé, N’Douci, N’Zianouan, Béoumi, Korhogo and Ferkessédougou. In the city of Béoumi, with a population of more than 73,000 inhabitants (2014), the project involves the construction of a water intake on the Bandama River in the village of Konsou.
The water will then be treated and stored in a 500 m3 tank. The Ivorian government states that the construction of a water treatment plant for the city of Béoumi and these agglomerations must be based on the continuity of the existing service and its reinforcement to meet the population’s drinking water needs. Thus, the rehabilitation of the existing treatment plant, which has a capacity of 45 m3/h, and the construction of a new treatment plant, which will provide 200 m3/h, will be carried out.
An important project for Béoumi
Also in the city of Belumi, the PREMU has planned the construction of a 300 m3 water tower in Belakro. It will draw part of the water treated by the newly built plant. The project will also reduce water losses and improve access to water in cities around the city of Abidjan. This is the case of Bingerville or Jacqueville.
The World Bank estimates that 1.2 million people should benefit from the PREMU. This result is expected by 2024 as the work is scheduled to start in July 2019.
Jean Marie Takouleu
