Announcement of First Water Supply Project in Lome, Togo, to be Assisted by IDA on May 5, 1983

FOR 1MMED1ATE RELEASE •world Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.•Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/ 70 Contact: Pamela Brennan May 5, 1983 (202) 477-3293 FIRST WATER SUPPLY PROJECT IN LOME, TOGO, TO BE ASSISTED BY IDA The first World Bank-assisted project in Togo for the water supply sector will use a credit of SOR 10.9 million ($12 million) from the International Development Association (IDA). Over 80,000 poor people living in Lome, the country's capital, are expected to benefit from the $27.6 million project. IDA is th~ concessionary lending affiliate of the World Bank. At present, Lorne's water supply system does not adequately serve the city's population of 356,000. Over half of the people use polluted water from wells. Eight new water production boreholes will be drilled and a water • neutralization plant, ground reservoir, and pucrping station will be built. In addition, 13 kilometers (km) of transmission main and 210 km of pipeline will be constructed. About 5,000 house connections and 33 standpipes will also be installed. The Regie Nationale des Eaux du Togo (RNET), the implementing agency, will be provided with consultants to carry out project preparation and other studies. A progressive tariff structure is designed to assure adequate revenues for RNET while continuing to favor the urban poor. Co-financing is expected from: Caisse Centrale de Cooperation Economique of France ($4.1 million); OPEC Fund for International Development ( $ 4 million); and the West African Development Bank ( $3. 5 million). IDA also nrovided $441,000 for consulting services as an advance from its Project treparation Facility. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has a small service charge (0.5% on the undisbursed balances of the credit and 0.75% on the disbursed balances). NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of the negotiation of the • credit. - 0 -