Funding Meeting Supports Large Scale Peri-urban Sanitation Project in Burkina Faso

The donor roundtable was organized by Ouagadougou’s City Council to mobilize the necessary funds for the construction of the planned infrastructure. The project was the subject of feasibility studies funded by the African Water Facility (AWF) which provided €647,000, covering 88 per cent of the costs of the preparatory work completed in August 2011.

“We are proud to be associated with this initiative and confident in the leadership of the City to carry out such an important and promising project,” said Akissa Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility. “We hope the financial partners will also support this project, which should benefit a wide range of citizens, including youth, women and the poorest people of the suburbs, providing them with a better living environment.”

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has already committed to funding the project up to €26 million (FCFA 17 billion) to begin the works as early as 2013, adding to the €8 million (FCFA 5 billion ) committed by the Government of Burkina Faso, and the €1.5 million (FCFA 1 billion) invested by the Municipality of Ouagadougou. The City is now seeking to fill the €103 million (FCFA 67.5 billion) gap with other financial partners, most of whom expressed interest in the project during the roundtable stage.

The project is of paramount importance to Ouagadougou, in light of the tragic flood of September 1, 2009, which left thousands homeless. The City hopes to implement a sanitation system resilient to the increasingly devastating floods capital has been recurrently facing in recent years due to climate change.

Aside from the AWF and African Development Bank (AfDB), other agencies were represented at the meeting including the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the French Development Agency, the German Development Bank (KfW), the Islamic Development Bank, OFID (former Fund of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), UN-Habitat, WaterAid, Water and Sanitation Agency Africa, the West African Development Bank and the World Bank.

Burkina Faso and the City of Ouagadougou are important partners of the African Water Facility. Moreover, Burkina Faso recently joined the group of donors of the African Water Facility by making a contribution of €80,000. This contribution demonstrates the country’s commitment to promoting the development of the water sector both at home and across the continent.

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