Africa Growing Together Fund recommits and provides $20 million loan for Urban Water Sector Reform and Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project in 2021 (Linked to Record ID#36104 and #92006)

Africa Growing Together Fund recommits and provides $20 million loan for Urban Water Sector Reform and Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project in 2021 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 December 12, 2019, AGTF signed an $20 million loan agreement with the Government of Nigeria for the Urban Water Sector Reform and Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

On the same day, the African Development Bank (AfDB) issued a $104.2 million loan and the African Development Fund (ADF) issued an $57 million loan agreement to the Government of Nigeria for the same project.

The total cost of the project is $222.9 million.

Other project financiers included Ondo State ($36.9 million), the Federal Government of Nigeria ($2.5 million), and the World Bank ($2.3 million).

The Urban Water Sector Reform and Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project has the following objectives: (i) Provide sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation to the residents of Akure City and environs (which cover Ondo City and satellite towns of Idanre, Igbara-Oke, Ilara Mokin, Ibule-Soro and Ipogun); (ii) Establish institutional & organizational arrangements for sustainability of the water and sanitation services; and (iii) Strengthen Federal Government’s capacity to facilitate urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) reform and performance improvements across the country.

The expected project outputs include: (a) a rehabilitated and expanded water supply system, and new sanitation facilities; (b) a fecal sludge treatment plant for Akure City; (c) Ondo Water Corporation, with tariffs, management systems, and pro-poor measures implemented, and meeting full operations and maintenance cost recovery; (d) a hygiene, sanitation and environmental health promotion undertaken, a fecal sludge management system operationalized, and a sanitation and waste water management plan developed with resources mobilized strategy; and (e) a scaled urban water sector program in line with the National WASH action plan.

The main project beneficiaries in Akure and environs are expected to be the 1.3 million residents (48% female) expected to live in the project area (the current population is 0.7 million) who will benefit from improved water services and sanitary conditions. The project was originally expected to be implemented between March 2020 to March 2025.

However, the ADF and AGTF loans were cancelled in April 2020 at the request of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to create additional headroom that would allow the African Development Bank to provide COVID-19 Crisis Response Budget Support.

The ADF and AGTF were then reapproved in September 2021, and the project implementation schedule was rescheduled from March 2022 to June 2027.