MOGADISHU, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB), through its concessional financing arm, the African Development Fund, has approved a 24.45-million-U.S.-dollar grant to improve access to clean water and sanitation in Somalia.
The financing will be used to expand and rehabilitate water and sanitation systems in the towns of Dollow, Qardho and South Galkayo, where safe water remains scarce and climate shocks are growing more severe, the AfDB said in a statement issued on Monday.
The AfDB said the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project will benefit more than 500,000 people in the three fast-growing towns which have absorbed an influx of internally displaced populations.
"It will supply and install 40 km of transmission and distribution pipelines across the three towns, drill or rehabilitate 42 boreholes, and construct four water treatment plants and three new water quality testing labs, as well as installing 26 generators as solar panel backups across the localities," the bank said.
An estimated 915 shared household latrines are expected to be constructed, along with mobile desludging units to address overflowing waste.
The lender said the project is expected to reduce health risks associated with waterborne diseases, while cutting the time spent fetching water and increasing productivity. ■
