DUSHANBE, July 6, 2014, Asia-Plus – On Friday July 4, Abdusalom Qurbonov, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan and Peter Mikula, Director of Swiss Cooperation in Tajikistan signed three agreements on granting financial and technical assistance for the implementation of three projects in the field of water resources management and urban and rural safe drinking water: 1) National Water Resources Management project with the lifetime of four years totals to over USD 8 million; 2) Rural Water Supply and Sanitation project in Fergana Valley worth over USD 5 million; and 3) additional funding of the ongoing 2nd Phase of Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation project worth around USD 6 million.
According to the Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan, the National Water Resources Management Project in the north of Tajikistan will specifically strengthen the capacities of the irrigation water providers and the local communities in effective water resource management in order to support the ongoing Water Sector Reform process. Concurrently, the project will support the rehabilitation of key irrigation infrastructure and reduce the impact of natural disasters to sustain the achievements of the project. Overall the project aims to strengthen water resources and irrigation management at the basin, canal and on-farm level to increase water and food security, to reduce water-related disaster risks, to improve livelihoods and raise socio-economic indicators in selected rural areas.
The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation project in Fergana Valley is a logical continuation of the Regional Rural Water Supply and Sanitation project implemented since 2007 in both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which was nationalized in 2012 in both countries with a view of reinforcing sustainability. The overall objective of the current project is to improve the rural population’s health and wellbeing with availability of sustainable safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, as well as with improved household hygienic behavior. The Project emphasizes on decentralized management of rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene at village level, complemented by a dialogue on drinking water supply and sanitation issues at all levels of the government.
The overall goal of the Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation project is to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for the sustainable provision of safe drinking water and sanitation in rural areas of Tajikistan. The first phase of the project amounted to over USD 4 million.
Within its Cooperation Strategy 2012-2015 Switzerland focuses on the most performing and effective sectors in Tajikistan as Health, Rule of Law, Water Supply and Sanitation, Private Sector Development. The overall goal for the Swiss Cooperation in Tajikistan is to support the transition process in Tajikistan by contributing to the economic development and by helping to build institutions and systems which are responsive to the population’s needs.
