(AfDB) - The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has approved a $101 million loan to finance the Rwanda Sustainable and Resilient Water and Sanitation Program a policy based operation to support Rwanda’s water and sanitation sector.

The program aims to improve water and sanitation governance and access to basic water supply and sanitation services. It will also strengthen legal, policy, institutional and regulatory frameworks for delivering basic water supply and sanitation.

“This program will benefit more than 13.2 million people in Rwanda, providing better and long-lasting access to safe water and sanitation services. It will also support the management of water resources, reforming policies and enhancing governance in the sector,” Osward Chanda, the Bank’s Director for Water Development and Sanitation, said at the Board meeting.

Rwanda’s Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, Water and Sanitation Corporation Limited, Rwanda Water Resources Board, and the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority will implement the Rwanda Sustainable and Resilient Water and Sanitation Program starting this year through 2026.

The Rwanda Sustainable and Resilient Water and Sanitation Program is the latest infrastructure project supported by the Bank via the Water Development and Sanitation Department. The Bank aims to accelerate Rwanda’s long-term development aspiration of becoming a middle-income economy by 2035, as outlined in its Vision 2050.

The program also aligns with the Bank’s Country Strategy 2022-2026 for Rwanda and the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013 – 2022, extended to June 2023) for inclusive growth and a gradual transition to green growth. It will contribute to three of the Bank’s priority areas, also known as the High 5s: Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa; Feed Africa, and Industrialize Africa.