World Bank offers $126m loan for integrated water system in Paraíba, Brazil

The World Bank has agreed to support Paraiba Improving Water Resources Management and Services Provision project in Brazil by providing a loan of $126.8m.

Approved by the World Bank Board of executive directors, the loan will be used towards establishing an integrated water system that will improve the security and promote the efficiency and expansion of water services in the state of Paraiba, which located in Northeast of Brazil.

The loan was provided through International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which is part of World Bank Group and was guaranteed by the Federative Republic of Brazil.

World Bank Brazil director Martin Raiser said: “The expansion and modernization of services are essential to increase not only the quality of life of the population but also Paraíba’s development.

“The project will tackle water security in three dimensions: management efficiency, infrastructure availability and services improvement.”

In addition to increasing the upstream infrastructure at the Paraíba river basin, the project is expected to minimise water loss as well as water pollution downstream in João Pessoa.

Among the outcomes supported by the programme are, higher numbers of hydro-meteorological stations operational and feeding into the water information system and covering a greater area of reliable water services in Agreste and Borborema regions.

Additionally, the programme will see minimisation of non-revenue water (NRW) as well as the volume of pollution load (BOD) discharge in water bodies in the Joao Pessoa metropolitan region.

The project is expected to benefit around four million people living in the region.

In another development, World Bank has approved a grant of $58m for the water supply and sanitation project in Tajikistan.

Under this project, households, schools and health clinics located in the southern Tajikistan region, will have improved access to the water supply as well as sanitation services.