Announcement of Philippines Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project to Benefit Six Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars People on October 21, 1982

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE .World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, 0.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/15 Contact: Sundaram Sankaran October 21, 1982 (202) 4 77-3962 PHILIPPINES RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PROJECT TO BENEFIT 6.2 MILLION PEOPLE Some 6.2 million people in the Philippines will benefit from a project to supply them with water and sanitation facilities. The $58.4 million project, to be carried out in rural areas, will be assisted with a $35.5 million loan, the World Bank an- nounced today. The project is the first of its kind in the Philippines. The construction and rehabilitation of about 10,000 shallow and deep wells and the development of other water sources will provide potable water through the installa- tion of mainly hand pump services and communal faucet systenIB, benefitting about 1.7 million people. For the maintenance of rural water supply systems, about 12 workshops will be built and provided with equipment and tools. Some 750,000 toilet units as well as 12 waste stabilization ponds will also be constructed to serve about 4.5 million people. Training will be provided for health .workers in sanitation practices to assist in health education. Chemicals will be supplied for disinfecting wells. To assist the Ministry of Health and ~he Ministry of Public Works and Highways with research in the design and construc'11n of rural water supply and rural sanitation works and project review as well as traiaing, technical assistance will be provided. Consulting services will also be made available for preparing future drainage, flood control, and solid wastes management projects in Metropolitan Manila. The implementing agency for the rural water component will be the newly established Rural Waterworks Development Corporation, and for the sanitation component will be the Ministry of Health. :~he World Bank loan is for 20 years, including five years of grace, with interest at 11.6% per annum. The loan also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75% on un- disbursed balances, and a front-end fee of 1.5% on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents . •