Chinese Government provides CFA 43 billion grant for Water Supply Project

On January 13, 2020, Chad’s Ministry of the Environment and the Chinese Embassy in Chad signed a CFA 43 billion grant agreement for a Water Supply Project.

The agreement was signed by Chad’s Minister of the Environment, Brahim Mahamat Djamaladine, and the Chinese Ambassador to Chad, Li Jin Jin.

The project involves the provision and installation of 510 human-powered pumps, 57 drinking water supply points, 18 pastoral wells and 129 sanitation works in three Chadian provinces: Mandoul, Salamat and BET.

Upon completion, the project is expected to significantly improve the rate of access of the population to drinking water and sanitation.

Before the project enters implementation, the Chinese Government plans to commission a set of geophysical studies that will involve identifying 30 well-distributed sites to cover the Nubian Sandstone area; drilling 30 deep reconnaissance boreholes that will eventually be transformed into exploitation boreholes; carrying out physico-chemical and bacteriological analyzes to know the quality of the water; and carrying out isotopic analyses to know the possible recharge and the level of pollution in the water table in order to determine the surface water and underground water interface.

On 16 November 2023, the Chinese Ambassador to Chad and the Minister of Water Resources signed the implementation agreement for a CFA 27 billion phase of the project, covering Salamat, Mandoul, and the Nubian Sandstone area.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on 27 November 2024 to mark the start of construction of boreholes, potable water systems (AEPs), livestock beacons, and public sanitation facilities.

According to the feasibility report for the project implementation, Taiwan and Libya may also be involved in funding this project. The specific agencies and transaction amounts were not recorded for Taiwan and Libya.