| Project Detail |
The objective of the Metro Water and Sanitation Improvement Project for Panama is to increase the quality, coverage and efficiency of its water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in the lower-income neighborhoods of selected areas of the Panama Metropolitan Region (PMR). There are three components to the project. The first component of the project is water supply and sanitation service improvements in lower income neighborhoods. The objective of this component is to increase the coverage of reliable water supply and sanitation services, in selected areas of the PMR where living standards are lower and also the provision WSS services is of an inferior quality compared to the rest of Panama city. It will finance network extension and rehabilitation activities, initially focusing on the neighborhoods of Alcalde Diaz and Chilibre and parts of the district of San Miguelito in Panama metro, where service is currently limited for a significant part of the residents and sewer connection rates are lower than in other parts of the PMR. In addition, IDAAN s (Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales - National Water and Sewer Agency) approach to working in lower income, peri-urban settlements will be revisited in-depth on the basis of regional good practices and a strong social outreach program will be developed to ensure that new users actually connect to the networks being built and do not become a financial burden on the utility in terms of tariff payment. The second component of the project is modernization of WSS systems in IDAAN s Colo n Business Unit. The objective of this component is to improve the efficiency and quality of water supply and sanitation services in one business unit of IDAAN. It will target the unit of Colon and finance a series of structural and non-structural measures. This component will benefit from recent major infrastructure investments |
