The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the release of €76 million for Tunisia. It consists of a loan of €75 million and a grant of €1 million, which will be used to finance the first phase of the Programme for the sanitation of small municipalities with a population of less than 10,000.
The programme allows the creation of new sanitation networks that will facilitate the operation of the pumping and wastewater treatment plants that will also be built as part of the project. The financing will also support the renovation of existing facilities. “Investing in new sanitation systems benefiting some 30 small municipalities will promote inclusive regional development that creates employment opportunities for young people, especially women,” said Mohamed El Azizi, Managing Director of the Bank for North Africa. The sanitation programme for small municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants is also funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
The EBRD’s financing
According to the AfDB, the sanitation programme for small municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants will contribute to the implementation of Tunisia’s 2016-2020 Development Plan. It contributes to the sustainability of sanitation systems management through capacity building in the municipalities concerned, which are located in 19 regions of the country. The National Sanitation Office (Onas), as the lead agency for this project, will also benefit from this project through the strengthening of the skills of its agents, composed of at least 280 engineers.
To achieve all the objectives of this important project, 160 million euros are needed. This is why the Onas has sought support from several of its development partners, including the EBRD. The latter has already announced funding of €66.5 million and the European financial institution wants to go further.
Its concessional loan will be accompanied by support in the form of technical cooperation. The objective is to assist Onas in the design of a comprehensive set of support measures to implement the decisions required under the Environmental and Social Action Plan. This also concerns the introduction of measures to promote greater private sector participation, including assistance for the supervision of new facility management contracts based on the public-private partnerships model (PPPs).
Jean Marie Takouleu