The Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Nouakchott Water Supply from the Senegal River(Supplementary Loan)
Loan No: 511 Interest Rate: 3.0 %
Beneficiary: National Water Company Grace Period: 6 years
Project Cost: KD 14.8 million Maturity: 25 years
Amount of Loan: KD 37.0 million Repayment: 39 semi-annual installments
Date of Board Approval: 2007-03-17 First Installment: 6 years following the first disbursement
Date of Loan Agreement: 2007-03-17 Date of Loan Effectiveness: 2007-05-26


Objectives:

The project aims at using the Mauritanian water share from the Senegal river to eliminate the deficit in potable water supply of Nouakchott and to meet its future demand up to the year 2030. The project will also help improve the standard of living and health conditions of the population of Nouakchott, and will provide potable water for the villages and cities along the main conveyer between the Senegal river and Nouakchott. The loan will cover the gap in financing the initial project (loan No. 454/2003) due essentially to the increase in the price of the ductile iron pipes and the appreciation of the Euro.

Description:

The project, which is expected to be completed by the year 2010, includes the construction of pumping stations, treatment plants and reservoirs, laying of transmission pipelines, land acquisition, consultancy services and institutional support for the National Water Company which will be in charge of the implementation and management of the project. The project consists of the following main components:

  1. Water Intake and Pumping Stations: This includes the equipment of the exiting water intake on the Senegal river (Aftout intake), and the construction of a pumping station near the intake with a nominal capacity of 1.8 m3/s and a head of 24 meters, a pumping station at Beni Neji village with a nominal capacity of 1.8 m3/s and a head of 140 meters,  and  another  pumping  station  at  Nouakchott  with  a nominal capacity of 1.6 m3/s and a head of 40 meters. It also includes the construction of electrical lines with a total  length of about 74 km to supply the pumping stations and treatment plants with electrical power
  2. Treatment Plants: This includes the construction of a preliminary treatment plant at Beni Neji with a nominal capacity of 170 thousand m3/day, a filtration plant at Nouakchott with a capacity of 150 thousand m3/day, and two reservoirs for the regulation of water at the preliminary treatment plant with a capacity of 3000 m3 each.
  3. Transmission Pipelines from the Intake to the Collecting Reservoir of Nouakchott: This includes the laying of two parallel pipelines between the raw water pumping station and the preliminary water treatment plant at Beni Neji with a length of about 6 km and a nominal diameter of 1100 mm for each pipeline, and laying of a main pipeline between the pumping station of Beni Neji and the collecting reservoir located at Nouakchott with a total length of about 169 km and a nominal diameter of 1400 mm.
  4. Collecting Reservoir of Nouakchott: This includes the construction of a concrete reservoir located near the filtration plant at Nouakchott with a capacity of 129 thousand m3  which will be supplied by the main pipeline.
  5. Potable Water Transmission Pipeline and Storage Reservoir: This includes the laying of a transmission pipeline between the filtered water pumping station and the existing storage reservoir of Nouakchott with a total length of about 19 km and a nominal diameter of 1200 mm, and the construction of an additional storage reservoir at Nouakchott with a capacity of 5000 m3.
  6. Technical Services: This includes necessary consultancy services to prepare studies and detailed design of the project, tender documents, and to perform the required supervision during project implementation.
  7. Institutional Support: This includes the services of a consulting firm specialized in project management to provide support to the unit in charge of the project implementation, and the provision of necessary equipment, computers and vehicules to this unit.

Financing:

The initial loan (No. 454/2003) and the present loan cover about 62.6% of the total project cost. The following funding agencies will also contribute to the financing of the project as follows: the Kuwait Fund with a loan of KD 10 million, the Saudi Fund with a loan equivalent to KD 8.7 million, the Islamic Bank with a loan equivalent to KD 2.8 million, and the African Development Bank with a loan equivalent to KD 3.8 million. The Government of Mauritania will cover the remaining cost of the project and any increase in cost.