IDB Funds Mexico Water and Sanitation Project

The Inter-American Development Bank is to give $600m to Mexico to improve water, sanitation and hygiene in its rural communities and public schools.

The funding includes two loans, which will provide potable water to 630,000 people, upgrade the sanitary infrastructure of 20,000 schools and reduce water-borne illnesses among 1.3 million students.

The first loan, which is worth $350m, will finance the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Basic Education Program.

The second loan, which is worth $250m, will finance the Program for the Sustainability of Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Rural Communities III (PROSAPyS III).

The total cost of the PROSAPyS III programme is $500m, of which Mexico will provide half in local counterpart funds.

The programme will expand Mexico’s piped water service to at least 630,000 people and access to a sanitation system will become available to 450,000 people living in rural communities with less than 10,000 inhabitants.