MANILA, The Philippines, Aug. 3, 2007 -- The Government of Netherlands has agreed to contribute $19.75 million to support the Water Financing Partnership Facility of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in line with efforts to provide safe drinking water supply and sanitation services, especially in remote and impoverished areas of the Asia and Pacific region.
The Water Financing Partnership Facility supports projects under the Bank's Water Financing Program, which was formulated to make water a core investment area. ADB expects to increase its water investments to more than $2 billion annually under the Water Financing Program.
"We appreciate the generous assistance to ADB's Water Financing Program," said Werner Liepach, Principal Director of ADB's Office of Cofinancing Operations. "The contribution will be useful in helping the ADB's developing member countries in meeting their Millennium Development Goals related to water."
The assistance was formalized with the signing of the Channel Financing Agreement establishing the Netherlands Trust Fund by the Government of Netherlands and ADB. Projects covered by the grant will include rural, urban and basin water demonstration projects. The grant will also be used to support the quality of the Water Financing Program through knowledge, capacity and innovation services.
"Water and sanitation are essential in reducing poverty, improving livelihoods and promoting sustainable economic growth," said WooChong Um, Director of ADB's Energy, Water and Transport Division. "Yet, investments in water services and in water resource management have lagged behind demand."
In 2002, about 700 million people in the Asia-Pacific region were without safe water supplies and some 2 billion had inadequate or no sanitation services.
ADB approved the establishment of the Water Financing Partnership Facility in December 2006 to mobilize additional resources from development partners for the Water Financing Program. Resources from partners under the Water Financing Partnership Facility are provided through project-specific loans, grants or guarantees under framework agreements to be negotiated with each financing partner, pooled grants through the Facility's trust fund component, and other forms of assistance.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members -- 48 from the region. In 2006, it approved loans and grants for projects totaling $8.5 billion, and technical assistance amounting to almost $242 million.
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