The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved a $13.2 million loan to Zambia aimed at enhancing drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for 460,000 residents in Kabwe and Bauleni. The initiative also seeks to boost the resilience of these communities against climate change impacts.
This loan, part of the African Development Bank Group’s concessional lending, is complemented by a $6.05 million grant from the European Union’s Nexus Energy and Water Programme, part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
“The project will significantly enhance water and sanitation services in Kabwe and Bauleni while improving the operational and financial efficiency of providers in Lukanga and Lusaka,” said Raubil Durowoju, head of the African Development Bank Group’s Country Office in Zambia.
Key components of the project include rehabilitating the Mulungushi water purification plant in Kabwe, which will involve upgrading equipment and infrastructure to produce 37,500 cubic meters of drinking water daily. Additionally, the project will extend water transport and distribution networks by over 70 km and install five new boreholes in Kalulu and Mukobeko. It will incorporate renewable energy technologies and innovative solutions like smart meters to reduce operational costs.
The project will collaborate with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to enhance water, sanitation, and hygiene services, and to promote integrated nutrition and hygiene practices, climate resilience, and effective waste and water management to at least 10,000 people.
The African Development Bank has been a longstanding partner in Zambia’s water sector, with its first project dating back to 1979. Since then, the Bank has supported 14 projects aimed at securing long-term water and sanitation services across the country.
