EBRD backs Tajikistan’s water rehabilitation network
By Aynur Karimova
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is planning to allocate a loan of up to $8 million in two tranches to Tajikistan’s Central Regional Water Company (CRWC) and Khojagii Manziliyu-Kommunali (KMK) on a joint and several basis.
The main purpose is to support the Tajik Water II - Central Water Rehabilitation Sub-Project, EBRD said on January 28.
The bank will also seek an investment grant of $8 million from an international donor to facilitate implementation of the important investments within prevailing affordability constraints.
The Tajik Water II Project would be an additional project under the Integrated Approach and provide financing to further advance important water supply and wastewater improvements in the 20 cities where the bank already works.
As part of the project preparation, Long Term Investment Programs and Priority Investment Programs have been developed for the five Regional Water Companies.
The sub-project consists of two tranches. The first tranche (committed) - $4 million will be used to rehabilitate water supply and selected wastewater collection measures in the cities of Gissar, Somoniyon, Shakhrinav and Tursun-Zade, while the second tranche (uncommitted) - $4 million for wastewater management improvements in the cities of Gissar, Somoniyon, Shakhrinav and Tursun-Zade.
The total project cost is $17.3 million including technical cooperation. The project will be co-financed by an investment grant from an international donor.
Currently, around only 24 percent of the population is connected to the sewer system (41,000 out of 170,000 people). The Central Tajik Water Rehabilitation project included only limited investments related to wastewater systems which aimed to increase the connection rate to wastewater collection system by 4 percent.
During the present project, a further 17 percent will be connected to the wastewater collection system. In addition, wastewater treatment will be provided for Somoniyon, Shakhrinav and Tursun-Zade. Although the treated wastewater will not satisfy the EU discharge standards, the basic treatment to be provided will still be a significant improvement compared to the existing situation.
The project will also help improve the public health by improving the water quality through on-site disinfection, reducing infiltration into water supply system, increasing the availability and reliability of water services, and better control of water quality through investments in laboratory equipment.
Since the beginning of its operations in Tajikistan, the EBRD has invested some $400 million into different sectors of the country’s economy, focusing on areas that improve people’s lives, such as public utilities and infrastructure.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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