The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved a loan of $13.2 million to Zambia on July 17, 2024, in Abidjan.
This funding will facilitate access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene for 460,000 people and strengthen innovative measures in the localities of Kabwe and Bauleni.
Additionally, the project will enhance the resilience of beneficiary populations to the effects of climate change.
Strategic Partnership with the European Union
In addition to the concessional loan from the African Development Bank Group, the European Union, a strategic partner of the Bank Group, is supporting the project through a $6.05 million grant from its Nexus Energy program for Zambia.
This initiative represents a transformative effort within the framework of the Global Gateway strategy.
Project Objectives and Scope
“The project aims to improve access to and the quality of water and sanitation services in the city of Kabwe (Central Zambia) and in the municipality of Bauleni (a district of Lusaka), and to increase the operational and financial efficiency of the water and sanitation companies of Lukanga (Center) and Lusaka, the capital,” explained Raubil Durowoju, head of the African Development Bank Group’s country office in Zambia.
Key Project Activities
The project includes the rehabilitation of the Mulungushi water treatment plant (water intake from the river, raw water pipeline) to restore the production of 37,500 cubic meters of drinking water per day.
It also involves improving and extending water transmission and distribution pipelines by over 70 kilometers, and constructing and equipping five boreholes in the Kalulu (Southwest) and Mukobeko (Center) catchment areas.
The project will utilize renewable energy technologies and introduce innovative measures, such as smart meters, to reduce operational costs by installing energy-efficient equipment in the water production and supply system.
Collaboration and Awareness Raising
The project will collaborate with partners like UNICEF to strengthen the provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
It will also raise awareness among at least 10,000 people on integrated nutrition and hygiene issues, climate resilience, and waste and water management.
African Development Bank’s Long-Standing Commitment
The African Development Bank’s extensive history in the water sector in Zambia makes it a unique partner to support the Zambian government in implementing this project.
The Bank has been supporting the water sector in Zambia since the late 1970s. Its first intervention, in 1979, focused on the water and sanitation project in five provincial centers, aiming to improve water supply and sanitation in the towns of Choma, Kalomo, Livingstone, and Monze in the south of the country.
Since then, the Bank has supported a total of 14 projects to enhance long-term water security and sanitation in Zambia.