World Bank to provide water supply improvement loan to Mexico

The World Bank has approved a $55m loan to modernise the state-owned water and sanitation sector and to improve the sustainability and quality of the water supply in urban areas of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

The project’s total cost is around $93.5m, of which $38.5m will be provided by the government through the National Water Commission’s (CONAGUA) Drinking Water, Sewage and Sanitation in Urban Areas Program.

In the first five years of implementation, around 650,000 people will benefit from quality drinking water supplied by the project.

According to the World Bank, 58% of the population lives below the poverty line in Oaxaca. After Chiapas and Guerrero, Oaxaca has the third lowest drinking-water coverage in Mexico with 79% and the lowest sanitation coverage with 71%.

World Bank Mexico and Colombia director Gloria Grandolini said that the project seeks to improve the administrative and distribution mechanisms for water resources to address the basic needs of part of the population that currently only has access to a discontinuous service.

"It also represents a significant addition to the broad package of services we have been providing to the state since 2011, including knowledge and convening services through which we share proven successful experiences from other parts of the world and implement them in Oaxaca," Grandolini added.

The National Public Works and Services Bank (BANOBRAS) will act as borrower for the World Bank loan, which in turn will reloan the funds to the Government of Oaxaca.