The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) approved a loan of EUR 118.63 million to Benin to implement the Drinking Water Supply for Resilience in Rural Areas Programme in Abidjan with the aim of supplying drinking water to an additional 965,000 people in the West African country.

The African Development Bank is contributing EUR 75.63 million in financial support. The Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), a joint-financing fund created by the African Development Bank and the People’s Bank of China, is providing EUR 43 million.

“This project is the Bank’s second intervention in the drinking water sector in rural Benin. The first was completed in 2012. This operation confirms the Bank Group’s commitment to supporting the government of Benin in implementing its Action Plan 2021-2026, particularly contributing to universal access to drinking water for people living in rural areas,” commented Robert Masumbuko, the African Development Bank’s Country Manager in Benin.

Among other things, the project plans to create 130 high flow-rate boreholes and pumping stations for a cumulative flow of 3,100 cubic metres per hour; to build 1,440 drinking water fountains and 40 water towers with a combined volume of 14,650 cubic metres; and to supply and install 2,200 kilometres of networks (backstreaming and distribution) and 2,000 kilometres of pipes to connect 20,000 households.

As well as installing water infrastructure, the project will provide support for reforms in the water sector and create associations for drinking water consumers. It will also contribute to capacity-building for the project’s stakeholders benefiting the rural population in 10 of Benin’s 11 departments.