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ADB gives new lease of life to Melamchi

The Melamchi Water Supply Project, whose future has always been in a limbo due to controversies surrounding it ever since it started, looks set to proceed, after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to new terms for the project for which it is the lead financier.

With this, hopes about the delayed water-supply project - which includes tunneling 26 kilometers through a mountain to ease chronic water shortages in Kathmandu - meeting its tall goals has increased.

"This project is the only realistic way to obtain a sustainable, long-term supply of drinking water for Kathmandu Valley," said Leonardus Boenawan Sondjaja, Head of the Project Administration Unit of the Urban Development Division of ADB's South Asia Department.

"While the need to address the water crisis is growing, the changing circumstances surrounding the project required adjustments in scope and implementation arrangements."

According to a release issued by ADB Friday, it also agreed to remove a loan covenant requiring the award of a private-sector management contract to support the new utility as a precondition for warding the tunnel civil works contract.

Similarly, ADB also approved adjustments to the two loan components under the Kathmandu Valley Water Services Sector Development Program, which complements the Melamchi Water Supply Project.

ADB initially agreed to support the Melamchi Water Supply Project in 2000, but changes since then have seen the cost lowered from $464 million to $317.3 million with careful prioritization and phasing of the project components.

Work was delayed by political instability and challenges engaging private-sector partners.

The project is essential for Kathmandu's 1.5 million residents, most of whom receive piped water for only a couple of hours a day. Many people rely on alternative water sources such as shallow wells, public taps, tankers, rainwater or bottled water - which are expensive.

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. nepalnews.com ag Feb 08 08