A section of Nzove water treatment plant in Nyarugenge district
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has approved a $101 million loan to finance the Rwanda Sustainable and Resilient Water and Sanitation Program.
The funding, approved July 14, 2023, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast is part of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group policy-based operation to support Rwanda’s water and sanitation sector that aims to accelerate the government’s long-term development aspiration of becoming a middle-income economy by 2035.
The program will improve water and sanitation governance and access to basic water supply and sanitation services; but also strengthen legal, policy, institutional, and regulatory frameworks for delivering basic water supply and sanitation.
Rwanda’s Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) Limited, Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB), and the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) will implement the program starting this year 2023 through 2026.
The program also aligns with the Bank’s Country Strategy 2022-2026 for Rwanda and the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013 – 2022, extended to June 2023) for inclusive growth and a gradual transition to green growth.
It will contribute to three of the Bank’s priority areas, also known as the High 5s: Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa; Feed Africa, and Industrialize Africa.
“This program will benefit more people in Rwanda, providing better and long-lasting access to safe water and sanitation services. It will also support the management of water resources, reforming policies and enhancing governance in the sector,” said Osward Chanda, the Bank’s Director for Water Development and Sanitation, said at the Board meeting.
Rwanda targets to have 100% of households with access to improved sources of drinking water by 2024 from 87.4% (in 2020), 100% of households using improved sanitation (toilets) from 86.2%, and Water production capacity (m³ per day) of 365,298 by 2024 from 267,660 (in 2020).
