Khujand Water Rehabilitation Project Phase III

Generally, urban water supply and sanitation in Tajikistan is in bad condition due to the lack of maintenance since the break-up of the Soviet Union. EBRD and SECO started cooperation on water projects in Tajikistan in 2004 with the Khujand Water Supply Project I. The City of Khujand (population 167'000) is the second largest city of Tajikistan. The project phase I was completed in 2008 and yielded promising results. Therefore, the EBRD and the SECO approved a second phase in 2009. Thanks to these two phases, the conditions of the water supply systems have improved substantially, while the wastewater sector is still in a very bad state.

The co-financing (with EBRD) of this project complements and sustains the projects undertaken so far in the city of Khujand. Following this approach, the programme contains a combination of the following three components: Financing of Priority Capital Investments, Corporate Development Programme and Stakeholder Participation Programme. An additional fourth component (Integrated Urban Planning) is envisaged as a pilot.

The impact of the project will be improved living conditions and economic opportunities for the population of the city of Khujand through the improvement of municipal wastewater collection and treatment.

Improvement of municipal wastewater collection and treatment, in particular the first-stage mechanical treatment part. Implementation support and engineering services to assist the Project Management Unit (PMU) in the technical realisation of the projects is also included. The project also includes a financial contingent provision for supporting Khujand City in integrated urban planning.

Expected results:  

A functioning wastewater collection and treatment system. The financial and operational performance of the Khujand Water Company will improve to a level necessary to operate the waste water system sustainably. Necessary long term investments in the water and waste water systems are identified, planned and closely coordinated with the government. Evaluation of the current situation and the urban development context of Khujand and appraisal of possible integrated urban components to be implemented.

Results from previous phases:  

Thanks to the excellent cooperation with the city in phase I and II and to the positive experiences with the Khujand model, the same project design (combination of physical investments, corporate development and stakeholder participation) will be extended to the wastewater sector.

As a result of phase I and II, the whole city of Khujand enjoys reliable 24h/day water supply. In addition, key performance indicators have considerably improved since 2005: drinking water consumption per day per person has been reduced by 40%- the collection rate has risen from initially around 50-60% to over 90% while the combined water and waste water tariff has more than tripled. Moreover, a tariff model has been developed and adopted and has been in use for some years now. Thanks to these improvements, Khujand Water Company can now serve two EBRD loans and manage its operations more sustainably.

Phase 3 01.01.2013 - 31.12.2020   (Completed)