World Bank approves $30m for Ghana’s water and sanitation project
The World Bank has approved $30 million from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA SWP). This 2nd additional financing will cover a financial shortfall resulting from increased costs due to inflation and allow the Government of Ghana to complete planned water and sanitation works.
The World Bank supports the Government of Ghana and Ghana’s water utility, Ghana Water Limited (GWL), in expanding the water supply and sanitation networks for urban centers and improving the water utility’s operational efficiency, among others by reducing losses from distribution of water that generates no revenues (45 percent in 2023).
“This second additional financing will help complete the rehabilitation and expansion of the existing Asafo Sewerage Network and provide access for 5,000 households in low-income communities to improved sanitation,” said Robert Taliercio, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra. “It also aims to improve the financial sustainability of GWL.”
The GAMA SWP Project supports the Government’s efforts to increase access to basic sanitation services and reduce open defecation in Ghana. The project’s activities are being implemented with the participation of local governments and project beneficiaries, drawing on local capacity for implementation wherever possible. The Project delivers specific benefits for women by reducing their water collection burden and relieving them from water provision for family members in the event of disease occurrence.
“This Additional Financing will also generate climate benefits,” said Harold Esseku, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist and Task Team Leader of the project. “The completion of the gravity-operated network and sewerage treatment plant in Kumasi is expected to reduce Green House Gas emissions. It will reduce CO2 emissions by making the use of aging vacuum trucks to transport sludge from septic tanks obsolete. The project also embraces a circular economy approach, by converting waste to briquettes and compost, aiming to lower the charcoal and biofuel use of local communities, and providing soil conditioner for urban agriculture.” It is expected that the GAMA SWP will provide 563,000 with access to improved sanitation services and 700,000 people with access to improved water supply services by the end of the project.
