South Sudan’s water and sanitation infrastructure is to be upgraded thanks to a decision by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide $24.7-million in funding.
The bank’s Strategic Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project will support the rehabilitation of about 50 km of the capital Juba’s distribution network and other related infrastructure including metering and public water collections outlets.
The project will also cover feasibility and engineering design for two other towns under the jurisdiction of the South Sudan Urban Water Corporation, the bank said in a press release.
Additionally it will cover the development of solar powered water distributions systems and sanitation and hygiene promotion in high-density rural communities surrounding Juba, as well as capacity development in the relevant water institutions.
Implementation will commence during the 2019/20 financial year, with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the South Sudan Urban Water Corporation serving as the executing and implementing agencies, respectively.
Juba, like many urban centres in the country, suffers from the effects of years of armed conflict and under-investment in the development and maintenance of basic water infrastructure.
Increased numbers of displaced people and rapid urbanisation have placed considerable strain on existing urban water supply infrastructure and the illegal supply of untreated water drawn from the river Nile by private water tanker operators is common in the city and its suburbs.