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Zambia Compact

This compact aimed to reduce poverty and boost economic growth in Zambia by improving the water supply, sanitation and drainage infrastructure in Lusaka, the rapidly urbanizing capital.

The compact’s long-term outcomes were to:

  • Decrease the incidence of water-related diseases;
  • Decrease productive days lost due to disease and the time required to collect water;
  • Reduce business and residential flood losses; and
  • Improve the financial sustainability of the city’s main water supply and sanitation utility, Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company.
The compact also supported the government’s ongoing water sector reform efforts by strengthening partner institutions and facilitating potential private sector investment opportunities. Approximately 1.2 million Zambians are expected to benefit from the compact over the next 20 years.
  • Original Amount at Compact Signing:
    $354757640
  • Amount spent:
    $332140018
  • Signed:
    May 10, 2012
  • Entry Into Force:
    November 15, 2013
  • Closed:
    November 15, 2018

Project Results

Lusaka Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage (LWSSD) Project

  • $309,655,427
    Original Compact Project Amount

Estimated Benefits

Estimated Benefits for the Lusaka Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage (LWSSD) Project
Time Estimated Economic Rate of Return (ERR) over 20 years Estimated beneficiaries over 20 years Estimated net benefits over 20 years
Not specified 1,199,962 $346,700,000

Project Description

The compact’s Lusaka Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage Project was composed of two activities:

  • Infrastructure Activity: This activity supported the water supply and sanitation networks managed by the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC). A major portion of the investment was focused on the rehabilitation of Lusaka’s core water supply system, including the reduction of water loss from leaks, theft, and metering problems within the system. The activity also supported the Lusaka City Council (LCC), the local government entity responsible for managing Lusaka’s drainage network. This activity included the expansion of the city’s water supply network, the rehabilitation and expansion of select sewer networks, the improvement of select drainage infrastructure, and engineering and resettlement professional support services. These works were selected based on investment master plans and feasibility studies, and were part of a three-phase, $3 billion Lusaka Government plan that will allow the city to meet the needs of its population through 2035. The drainage component was selected based on priorities identified in an urban development plan funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
  • Institutional Strengthening Activity: This activity provided technical assistance to help LWSC and LCC provide better services to the citizens of Lusaka. This entailed pursuing new and ongoing government sector reform efforts and institutional governance to ensure improved sector management and sustainability of compact investments. The activity also included support for better asset and environmental management by LWSC, and it provided technical assistance so that LCC could improve strategic planning, maintenance and environmental management. Support to LWSC and LCC included gender-inclusive policymaking and planning, improving service delivery to poor and underserved populations, and carrying out well-designed and coordinated information, education and communications (IEC) campaigns. The compact’s Innovation Grants Program (IGP), a component of the Institutional Strengthening Activity, provided nearly $6 million in grants to community-based organizations, civil society and private sector entities to stimulate innovation in the water, sanitation and solid waste management sectors, including improving service delivery to the most vulnerable. IGP expanded access to water, sanitation and solid waste services in peri-urban areas of Lusaka while also enhancing the overall impact and sustainability of the MCC compact.

As of Fri Oct 18 2019 00:00:00 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)