Baku, Azerbaijan, May 28
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan of $145 million to improve water supply and sanitation services in the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan in the northwestern part of Uzbekistan, Uzbek media reported.
The project will cover water supply and sanitation services for about 388,000 residents.
"Improving the conditions of water supply is very important for the Republic of Karakalpakstan," said Hao Jang, chief specialist for urban development at the Central and West Asian Department of ADB.
Modernization of water supply and sanitation systems will improve the quality of life of people, in particular for 178,000 women and children who will have access to uninterrupted centralized water supply.
Republic of Karakalpakstan with a total area of more than 165,000 square meters kilometers (km) and a population of about 1.8 million people face water supply problems. This is also complicated by the fact that the existing infrastructure of municipal water service providers requires modernization and capacity expansion.
Currently, only 37 percent of the population in the project area has access to centralized water supply, with 40 percent of residents receiving water less than 6 hours per week.
The project is planned to be implemented by July 2024, its total cost is $172.3 million, with the participation of funds from the government of Uzbekistan in the amount of $27.3 million.
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