The Water Financing Programme (WFP) will be implemented through Asian Development Bank's regional and private sector operations departments in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and other Asian countries during 2006-2010 and more than $15 billion would be provided for the project.
According to ADB sources, for 2006, the programmed level of water investments already exceeded $2.4 billion. When the programme is expanded to 2009-2010 on a pro-data basis, total delivery could reach $12 billion over five years, exclusive of co-financing. While planned water investments will continue across the region, WFP will focus in its first phase on India, Indonesia, Pakistan, PRC, and Vietnam, which together account for about 80 percent of the current pipeline of water investments.
ADB's regular lending programmes in these countries will also offer the greatest opportunity to explore an expansion of water lending beyond current levels.
To complement higher levels of lending, ADB will pursue additional bilateral co-financing partnerships to increase technical assistance in support of water investments. "Our aim is to increase assistance from the current level of approximately $12 million to $20 million per year for national water sector reforms, project preparation, monitoring and capacity development," said ADB sources.
In implementing WFP, ADB will further strengthen collaboration with civil society, including knowledge partners and the academe, development and advocacy NGOs, parliamentarians and support for media networking.
To ensure successful implementation, ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department would monitor the programme through funding support, innovation, knowledge sharing and the provision of special advisers to regional departments and the private sector operations.
The Asia Water Watch 2015 study, commissioned by ADB, WHO, UNDP, and UNESCAP, estimates that annual investments of $8 billion-at minimum will be needed over the next decade to meet millennium development goal (MDG) targets for safe drinking water and sanitation alone. Additional investments are needed for irrigation services, river basin management, flood management and mitigation, and wastewater management to ensure the future of this precious resource. Investments in water are also crucial to meet the broader MDG targets of reducing poverty, hunger, child and maternal mortality and the incidence of major diseases, and improving environmental sustainability.
WFP WILL ENSURE THE DELIVERY OF A SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT, REFORM, AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN THREE KEY AREAS:
(i) Rural water services to improve health and livelihoods in rural communities, including investments in water supply and sanitation, and irrigation and drainage.
(ii) Urban water services to support sustained economic growth in cities, including investments in water supply, sanitation and wastewater management, and environmental improvement; and
(iii) Basin water management to promote integrated water resources management and healthy rivers, including investments in the infrastructure and management of multifunctional water regulation and hydropower facilities developed in a basin context, flood management, and the conservation and improvement of watersheds, wetlands, and ecosystems.
The WFP focuses on combining increased investments in water infrastructure with capacity building, private sector participation, and improved water governance.
It is expected that such investments will be well over $2 billion annually, representing approximately 25 percent of overall ADB lending over a three-year moving average period, and a doubling of ADB's investments in water compared to 1999. WFP will also mobilise co-financing and additional investments from governments, the private sector, and multilateral and bilateral partners. An initial target of $100 million in bilateral grant assistance has been proposed to support the implementation of WFP.