Yemen: Water Sector Support Program

This proposed World Bank-supported programme aims to improve access to water supply and sanitation services, increase returns to water use in agriculture, and strengthen sector institutions for sustainable water resources management and environmental protection. This will be achieved through a sector-wide approach (SWAP) aligned behind the National Water Sector Strategy and Investment Program (NWSSIP, 2005). NWSSIP is the approved national strategy and investment program for the water sector in Yemen and is regarded as one of the most advanced in the Arab world.

Yemen is facing major challenges: groundwater resources are rapidly dwindling, rural areas and the economy are under threat, while urban and rural water coverage have only kept pace with population growth and not with continued community expansion.

In its entirety, the programme is estimated to cost in the range of US$300 million (US$60 million/year) to be financed by IDA (US$90 million) and parallel/joint co-financing from Germany (US$163 million), DFID (US$35 million), and the Netherlands government (US$38 million).

The proposed program will have five components:

• Urban Water and Sanitation
• Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
• Irrigation Improvements
• Water Resources Management
• Capacity Building

The estimated date of Board approval by the World Bank is 18 December 2008.

World Bank Project web site