Africa Growing Together Fund provides $49.4 million loan for Phase 1 of Coastal Towns Inclusive Sanitation Project (Linked to Umbrella Record ID#36104)

Africa Growing Together Fund provides $49.4 million loan for Phase 1 of Coastal Towns Inclusive Sanitation Project On May 22, 2014, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) signed an agreement for the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) (see Umbrella Record ID#36104).

The purpose of this $2 billion loan facility was to finance large development projects in Africa between 2014 and 2024. The AGTF is sponsored by the PBOC and the administered by AfDB.

Then, on October 3, 2023, AGTF signed a a $49.4 million loan agreement (ID#5050300002051) with the Government of Angola for Phase 1 of the Coastal Towns Inclusive Sanitation Project.

On the same day, the African Development Bank (AfDB) issued a $75 million loan (ID#2000300000454) to the Government of Angola for the same project.

The objective of the project is to improve access to climate-resilient and sustainable sanitation services in the Coastal Towns of Benguela, Baía Farta, Catumbela and Lobito.

The project consists of three components: (i) Development of Sanitation Infrastructure; (ii) Capacity building and institutional strengthening; and (iii) Project Management. The description of the components is detailed below.

Component 1: Development of Sanitation Infrastructure [US$125.26] — The objective of this component is to support the construction of climate-resilient and sustainable sanitation infrastructure necessary to stop untreated wastewater and/or faecal sludge from being discharged into the environment.

The infrastructure will include both onsite and off-site facilities including containment, transportation, and conveyance systems with the objective of reaching all people in an inclusive manner.

The activities will include: rehabilitation and construction of 65 km (49km in Benguela and 16km in Lobito) of sewer pipelines and 10 pumping stations (5 in Benguela and 5 in Lobito); rehabilitation and expansion of two nature-based wastewater treatment plants (ponds)in Benguela and Lobito with combined capacity of 33,000m3/day; construction of two faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTP) with a combined treatment capacity of 1,260m3/day.

One common FSTP will service Benguela and Baía Farta with capacity 750m3per day, and Lobito will have its own FSTP with capacity of 510m3per day; construction of thirteen sludge transfer stations which will be temporary depots for fecal sludge (3 in Baía Farta, 6 in Benguela and 4 in Lobito); •Provision of operation and maintenance equipment, and facilities to the Benguela PWSU; provision of eight vacuum trucks and 16 vacutug for sludge emptying/collection and transportation by the service providers; connection of 9,869 customers to the sewer service in Lobito and Benguela Towns; provision of 17,000 household improved sanitation facilities complete with handwashing facilities (4,970 in Benguela; 7,140 in Baia Farta; 1026 in Catumbela and 3,864 in Lobito) for the most vulnerable households headed by the elderly, female, and orphans and those living with disabilities, or people living with HIV/AIDS who are not able to access or afford safe sanitation facilities; improvement to 309 public sanitation facilities for schools, health centers, markets, and public places (138 in Benguela, 22 in Baía Farta, 22 in Catumbela and 124 in Lobito).

Component 2: Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening [US$16.59million] — The main objective of this component is to build the capacity of the service providers to manage sanitation services and create capacity and awareness within the communities in support of the inclusive sanitation objective and ensure the sustainable operation and maintenance of the facilities and affordable service provision.

The activities under this component will include:•Development of the Sanitation Service Chain by developing the tools and means for sustainable sanitation service provision (diagnosis, strategy for fecal sludge management, mechanism for revolving fund, municipal regulation and standard, tariff development, Operation and Maintenance); public awareness campaign and education in nutrition, hygiene and sanitation(personal, food, environmental hygiene) and support for hygiene and sanitation school clubs; training of artisans and entrepreneurs for fecal sludge management businesses; providing opportunities for young trainees or youth apprenticeship (higher education and technical and vocational schools graduates)in technical areas related to sanitation, particularly in operation and maintenance of sanitation infrastructure and project management(engineering, procurement, social, environment, finance, monitoring and evaluation areas); building the operation and maintenance capacity of the service providers through training, developing manual/procedures and provision of equipment and facilities; and strengthening of DNA/Utility/Municipal capacity through trainings and advisory services.

Component 3: Project Management [US$8.15million] — The objective of this component is to provide project management services for the implementation of the project.

The component will support the financing of competent project implementation team members comprising of project manager, accountant, procurement officer, sanitation engineer, safeguard expert, monitoring and evaluation expert, community facilitators and other support staff.

It will also finance the provision of equipment and furniture, project annual financial audits, project annual environmental and social audit, project annual procurement audit, baseline and end-line survey consultancies, mid-term-reviews and operating costs.

The project category is confirmed as Category 2 according to the AFDB’s Integrated Safeguards System (ISS) and Category B as per Angolan environmental regulations under the Ministry of Environment.

The justification for the category is based on the project’s potential negative impacts during the construction and operation phases.

The negative (expected) impacts are largely site specific and reversible and will be mitigated by measures described in the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP).

All the environmental and social (E & S) safeguards documents, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) with ESMPs for each town that is Benguela, Lobito (including Catumbela) and Baía Farta were prepared by the borrower, and reviewed and cleared by the AFDB, and disclosed by the borrower’s Department of National Water Directorate of the Ministry of Energy and Water on January 16, 2023 and then the AFDB on January 17, 2023 in accordance with the ISS requirements.

The project also obtained all relevant authorizations from Angola’s Ministry of Environment for the ESIAs which are valid up to November 2025. Stakeholder’s engagements and public consultations are adequately reflected in the ESIA documents.

The consultations for Lobito and Catumbela towns involved 562 stakeholders with 345 males and 217 females; Benguela consultations involved 531 stakeholders with 275 males and 256 females; and Baia Farta town had 156 stakeholders with 123 male and 36 females.

A Stakeholder Engagement Plan and Grievance Redress Mechanism have been developed and used for project development and will be enhanced to be used during project implementation; and operation and maintenance phases to include engagements with stakeholders on impacts related to the operation Wastewater and Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants.

The major environmental and social risks and significant negative (expected) impacts include (i) Interference with the physical environment i.e.through temporary changes in local topography due to excavations for construction and rehabilitation of waste water treatment plant, pumping stations, construction of faecal sludge management facilities, public sanitation facilities in schools, market centers and hospitals; (ii) impact on the air quality and noise levels due to dust and machinery associated with construction activities, (iii) Interference with water resources associated with excavations and disposal of construction materials; (iii) limited interference with the biotic environment, including partial disturbance of local fauna, flora during excavation and construction of WWTP, pumping stations, faecal sludge facilities; (v) Community health and safety impacts related to movement of construction machinery and vehicles, risk of diseases spread as a result of stagnant water and improper management of fecal matter in construction sites;(v) Health and safety of workers during construction attributed to injuries from accidents and incidents on sites; (vi) dust and noise nuisance attributed to heavy vehicles, machinery and excavations, (vii).

Employment and labor related impacts; and (viii) Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) risks.

The project’s positive impacts include: (i) the reduction of the potential contamination of water resources and soil, and sandy beaches and bathing areas as a result of improved sanitation; (ii) improvement of the public health and well-being of the community through proper management of fecal waste, contributing to the reduction of diseases related to poor sanitation conditions; and (iii) boosting of fishing activities by improving the waterbody quality; (iv) increase in the tourist attractiveness of the towns owing to improved sanitation; (vi) Employment opportunities for local community members during construction; and (vii) Business opportunities for supply of building materials and equipment during construction and transportation of fecal waste during operation phase.41.The mitigation measures for each major risk and adverse impacts are reflected in the Environmental and Social Management Plan.

The ESMP implementation costs for the four (4) towns is estimated at $549,200.

This estimate has been included as part of the construction contracts and personnel costs in the consultancy and project management costs.