ADB Starts Water, Sanitation Project In Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is laying the groundwork for a water and sanitation project, that will help improve the health and lives of about 200,000 people living in nine towns in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, said a press release here Wednesday.

"The towns are situated in 'economic corridors' that have roads linking the six countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). A key ADB strategy is to develop the corridors in order to strengthen cross-border ties, expand sustainable economic opportunities, and reduce poverty," the Vietnam news agency (VNA) quoted the ADB release as saying.

"The economic growth of secondary towns in the corridors will lead to higher incomes and improved quality of life for their people," said Paul van Klaveren, a water supply and sanitation specialist with ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

A US$1.5 million technical assistance is being extended to pave the way for the Mekong Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

The Japan Special Fund, through ADB, will provide US$400,000; ADB's Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund will extend a US$500,000; and an additional US$300,000 grant will come from the Dutch government via the Water Financing Partnership Facility, which is administered by ADB, said the release.

The three GMS governments involved in the project will contribute the equivalent of US$300,000, it added.

The towns identified for the planned project have high poverty levels and poor, or even non-existent, water supply and sanitation services, said the release.

With improved infrastructure, they have the potential to develop into transport and tourism hubs, it added.

The technical assistance will be used to determine the services needed for each town, the appropriate level of user charges, and the financial and technical capacity of participating public utilities and local governments, in order to design a project that is both realistic and sustainable, said the release.

At present, many local governments are unable to provide potable water and sanitation services 24 hours a day because of the high investment costs involved, said the release.

At the same time, consumers face high tariffs that many cannot afford, or are unwilling to pay, making the rollout of new services financially unsustainable, it added.

-- BERNAMA