Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Drinking Water and Development of Oases in Rural Areas
Loan No: 601 Interest Rate: 2.5 %
Beneficiary: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Agency for the Promotion of Universal Access to Basic Services Grace Period: 7 years
Project Cost: KD 22.0 million Maturity: 25 years
Amount of Loan: KD 20.0 million Repayment: 37 semi-annual installments
Date of Board Approval: - First Installment: 7 years following the first disbursement
Date of Loan Agreement: 1900-01-01 Date of Loan Effectiveness: -

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 during the third quarter of 2018, will rehabilitate existing drinking water facilities in about 100 rural villages which are currently being supplied by the National Office for Water Services in Rural Areas (National Office). Equipment and supplies of facilities in a number of other villages will also be rehabilitated. This project will also supply about 200 villages deprived of drinking water services, as well as prepare for the supply of around 200 other villages with drinking water by digging the necessary wells. In addition, the project will develop the rural areas in the oases through the provision of groundwater for the irrigation of about 1,100 hectares of palms and vegetables, and regulate surface water for the irrigation of about 1,150 hectares of grain, as well as replenish groundwater supplies. The project includes the following main components:

  1. Drinking Water in Rural Villages: This includes:
    1. Rehabilitation of Existing Drinking Water Facilities:This includes the preparation of about 100 wells with submersible pumps, and the establishment and rehabilitation of around 100 upper water reservoirs with capacities ranging between 20 and 200 m3 each. This also includes extending and replacing about 450 km of pipes with diameters ranging between 63 and 160 mm, installing about 10,000 house connections, 80 public faucets and 50 basins for watering livestock, replacing about 30 thousand water meters for the National Office customers, replacing about 700 meters for the production and distribution of water, in addition to rehabilitating about 300 hand pumps on existing wells, and replacing about 300 small submersible thermal powered pumps with solar powered pumps.
    2. Establishment of New Drinking Water Facilities: This includes the preparation of about 200 wells with submersible pumps, the establishment of about 200 upper water reservoirs with capacities ranging between 20 and 200 m3 each, and the extension of about 1,400 km of pipes with diameters ranging between 63 and 200 mm. This also includes the installation of about 20,000 house connections, 400 public faucets and 200 basins for watering livestock. .
    3. Digging Wells: This includes digging about 200 groundwater wells with depths ranging between 60 and 140 m. .
  2. Rural Development Works in Oases: This component includes the following:
    1. Wells and Irrigation Networks: This includes the preparation of about 30 existing wells with submersible pumps, digging about 50 wells and preparing them, establishing about 70 upper water reservoirs with capacities ranging between about 40 and 60 m3, and extending about 90 km of pipes with diameters ranging between 63 and 90 mm
    2. Rehabilitation and Construction of Small Dams and Levees: This includes the rehabilitation of about 3 existing small dams, and the construction of about 7 dams with heights ranging between 2 and 8 m each, and lengths ranging between 80 and 1,200 m. This also includes the construction of about 20 levees with lengths ranging between 70 and 210 m each, and a height of about 1.5 m. .
  3. Technical Services: This includes the provision of the technical and consultancy services necessary to prepare the studies and implementation plans, design and tender documents, and the supervision services for the implementation of the project. This also includes the provision of agricultural advisory services, the preparation of a laboratory for agricultural research with a goal to improve palm production, and the use of experts to support the agencies that manage the project’s implementation.
  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, and the establishment of a center for the storage and packaging of dates.

Financing:

The Arab Fund’s loan covers about 91% of the total project cost. The Mauritanian Government will cover the remaining cost of the project and any additional cost that may arise.