The World Bank today approved a $50 million loan to finance the construction and improvement of water supply and sanitation facilities in rural regions of Peru.
The loan will help finance the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (Proyecto Nacional de Agua y Saneamiento Rural - PRONASAR), an initiative of the Government of Peru. PRONASAR aims to provide access to water and sanitation over the long term for approximately 1.3 million poor people in rural areas.
"Improving water and sanitation services is a key objective of the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for Peru," said
Andrea Silverman, World Bank Sector Leader for Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. "The reliable supply of water and provision of proper sanitation in poor rural areas will improve people’s quality of life and health."
As a result of this financing, new drinking water supply and sanitation facilities for about 125,000 people in 450 communities will be constructed. Existing piped water supply for about 750,000 people in 2,500 communities will be repaired and expanded. The new supplies might be piped networks with house connections, capped springs, wells, or systems for catching rainwater.
"With efficient planning, high-quality design and workmanship, training for the workers responsible for operation and maintenance and extensive hygiene education, plus emphasis on capacity building for post-construction follow-up by municipal authorities, these facilities should be sustainable for the long term," said
Alex Bakalian, World Bank task manager for the project. "This means rural communities will be in a position to build local economies and ultimately find their way out of poverty."
This single-currency, fixed-spread loan will be administered by the Ministerio de Vivienda, Construcción y Saneamiento and implemented via the Fondo de Compensación y Desarrollo Social (FONCODES), the Peruvian government arm responsible for channeling infrastructure investments for the rural poor. The loan has a repayment period of 14 years, including eight years of grace. Disbursements will run from 2003 through 2009.
For more information on the World Bank’s work in the Latin America and Caribbean region, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/lac
