IDB.News Releases.Nov 22, 2011.$81 million loan will finance improved water pressure, quality, and volume for 38,000 households in New Providence. The Bahamas will overhaul major parts of the water infrastructure in New Providence with the help of an $81 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The five-year program is expected to cut in half the amount of water lost through leakages in New Providence, conserving precious drinking water and improving financial sustainability for local water suppliers.
A total of 6,000 leaks will be repaired and 9,000 new water connections will be activated by project completion. Moreover, water pressure and continuity are expected to rise significantly, leading to better service for 38,000 households that already connected to the water network.
“The Bahamas has by far the lowest ratio of fresh water to population in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Evan Cayetano, project team leader at the IDB. “The amount of available fresh water per capita is less than 0.1 percent of the regional average, which highlights the need for action in this sector.”
The operation will establish a new independent environmental regulator to protect the country’s scarce fresh water resources, as well as a new economic regulator. It also aims to strengthen management of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, the country’s main provider of water services, implementing a monitoring system to facilitate operation and maintenance.
The program will also target potential health hazards by rehabilitating broken sewerage infrastructure and coming up with a master plan to address wastewater collection and treatment in New Providence.
The IDB loan is for 25 years, with a five-year grace period and a variable interest rate based on LIBOR.
