Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Drinking Water and Development of Oases in Rural Areas(Supplementary Loan)
Loan No: 668 Interest Rate: 2.0 %
Beneficiary: Ministry of Economy and Finance, Water Department in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Rural Development Grace Period: 7 years
Project Cost: KD 24.9 million Maturity: 31 years
Amount of Loan: KD 3.0 million Repayment: 49 semi-annual installments
Date of Board Approval: 2019-04-25 First Installment: 7 years following the first disbursement
Date of Loan Agreement: 2019-04-25 Date of Loan Effectiveness: 2019-08-09

Objectives:

The project aims at providing drinking water to the inhabitants of rural villages in different parts of Mauritania, as well as improving their health and living conditions. The project also aims at developing groundwater sources and regulating surface water in oases for agricultural use. The project will contribute to strengthening the efforts to fight poverty and unemployment, improving farmers’ income, providing employment opportunities and maintaining the population in rural oases areas.

Description:

The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, includes the rehabilitation of existing drinking water facilities in about 100 rural villages being currently supplied, and that of equipment and supplies of facilities in a number of other villages. The project also includes the supply of about 300 villages deprived of drinking water services, as well as the preparation for the supply of around 200 other villages with drinking water by digging the necessary wells. In addition, the project includes the development of the rural areas in the oases through the provision of groundwater for the irrigation of about 730 hectares of palms and vegetables, the construction of a center to process and package dates, as well as the reinforcement of the ground water recharge. The project also consists of the provision of equipment to a number of existing wells, the digging and preparation of other wells, the construction of reservoirs and the laying of pipes to distribute the water for drinking and irrigation purposes, as well as the construction of levees and the rehabilitation of small dams in the rural villages in the oases. The project also includes the provision of technical services and institutional support to the beneficiary and implementing entities.

The project comprises the following main components:

  1. Drinking Water Works in Rural Villages:This includes the provision of submersible pumps to about 400 wells, with capacities ranging between 3 and 25 m3/hour, powered either by solar energy or by electrical generators, the construction of about 400 elevated reservoirs with heights of about 15 m and capacities ranging between 20 and 200 m3each, the laying of about 2630 km of pipes with diameters ranging between 63 and 200 mm, as well as the installation of about 28900 house connections, 450 public fountains and 100 basins for watering livestock. This also includes the replacement of about 30 thousand customers’ defective water meters, the provision of about 700 meters for the production and distribution of water, and the digging of about 210 wells with depths ranging between about 60 and 180 m.
  2. Rural Development Works in Oases:This includes the provision of solar powered submersible pumps to about 45 existing wells, with capacities ranging between about 6 and 20 m3/hour, the digging of about 50 wells with depths ranging between about 70 and 200 m and providing them with solar powered submersible pumps with capacities ranging between about 10 and 30 m3/hour, the construction of about 82 elevated water reservoirs with capacities ranging between about 40 and 100 m3, and heights ranging between about 10 and 20 m, and the laying of about 114 km of pipes with diameters ranging between 40 and 110 mm. This also includes the rehabilitation of about 3 existing small dams, the construction of about 4 dams with heights ranging between about 2 and 3 m each and lengths ranging between about 200 and 1200 m, as well as the construction of about 20 levees with lengths ranging between about 80 and 250 m each, width of about 8 m and height of about 1.5 m. This component also includes the construction of a center to process and package dates in Adrar, with an annual capacity of about 500 tons, and a laboratory equipped to cultivate palm tissue, conduct research and fight palm diseases.
  3. Technical Services:This includes the provision of the technical and consultancy services necessary to prepare the studies and implementation plans, the design and tender documents, and the supervision services for the implementation of the project. This also includes the provision of agricultural advisory services, and the preparation of any studies required to contribute to the achievement of the project’s objectives.
  4. Institutional Support:This includes the provision of equipment, supplies, and means of transport for the management of the project’s implementation, as well as the training of employees.

Financing:

The two Arab Fund loans, the first No. 601/2013 and the supplementary, cover about 92% of the total project cost. The Mauritanian Government will cover the remaining cost of the project and any additional cost that may arise.