ADB Allocates Over $93 Million to Enhance Rural Water Supply in Nine Cambodian Provinces

• 3 September 2024
• Local News
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a comprehensive funding package of $93.6 million in loans and grants to expand the rural water supply and sanitation (WASH) infrastructure across nine provinces in Cambodia, aiming to provide climate-resilient and safe water supply to rural communities. This significant development was announced on 02 September 2024.

The initiative will directly benefit 88,000 families in 400 villages across 50 communes within the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Speu, Kampot, Kratie, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin, Preah Vihear, and Stung Treng.

The funding includes a $3 million grant from the Japan Foundation for Prosperity and Resilience in Asia and the Pacific (JFPR), specifically earmarked to enhance WASH facilities in some of Cambodia’s poorest provinces. Currently, access to safe water and basic sanitation remains a critical challenge in rural areas, with only 20% of the population having access to safe water and 34% to proper sanitation facilities.

In addition to infrastructure expansion, the program seeks to encourage private sector involvement in the provision of safe water services. It also integrates climate change considerations into all phases of planning, design, and implementation of WASH facilities to ensure that they are resilient to future climatic shifts.

Moreover, the initiative aims to address the pressing issue of open defecation, which is widespread in rural areas, contributing to land and water pollution and the spread of communicable diseases.

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