The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said on Tuesday that it approved a US$30 million Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP) to support Guyana’s efforts to enhance its water and sanitation infrastructure.
The CCLIP’s general objective is to improve the resilience, quality and sustainability of drinking water and sewerage services provided by Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), the national utility provider.
Guyana Standard understands that this programme is expected to benefit approximately 151,560 people by improving access to safe, reliable water services. GWI will also benefit from digital transformation, enabling the adoption of modern technologies and tools that will improve operational management, reduce costs, and increase revenue.
The main investments under this phase include the construction of a new water treatment plant at Diamond, East Bank Demerara and approximately 15 kilometers of transmission pipelines and interconnections, which will allow the integration of the new plant with the existing distribution network.
The programme will also support the reduction of Non-Revenue Water initiatives which include advanced leak detection and repair, and public awareness campaigns.
Additionally, the programme will upgrade GWI’s digital infrastructure, including the integration of management information systems, improved metering, and operational efficiency enhancements across the East Bank Demerara, East Coast Demerara, and Cummings Lodge systems.
As part of the new CCLIP, the IDB also approved a Specific Investment Loan (ESP) of US$15.57 million loan to finance improvements in the water and sanitation infrastructure. The US$30.0 million CCLIP has a 25-year repayment term, a 5.5-year grace period, an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), and will benefit from co-financing contribution of US$36.33 million to be financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Over the past 5-years, Guyana has embarked on a strategic transformation of the water and sanitation sector to increase potable water supply by constructing new water treatment plants, installing transmission mains to improve the quality of service to citizens nationwide, and drilling new wells in both coastal and hinterland communities to extend access to safe water supply. The IDB credit line will support Guyana’s efforts in continuing to upgrade and transform the portable water supply sector.
