The board of directors of the African Development Bank has approved a proposal to commit $24.7m to finance the South Sudan Strategic Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project.

The project would support the rehabilitation of approximately 50 kilometre of the Juba town distribution network and related works, including metering and public water collections outlets.

It added that the project would also cover feasibility and engineering design for two other towns under the jurisdiction of South Sudan Urban Water Corporation.

The project would additionally cover the development of solar powered water distributions systems and sanitation and hygiene promotion in high-density rural communities surrounding Juba, as well as capacity development in the relevant water institutions.

Implementation would commence during the 2019/2020 financial year, with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the South Sudan Urban Water Corporation serving as the executing and implementing agencies, respectively.

South Sudan’s capital city of Juba, like many urban centers in the country, suffered from the effects of years of armed conflict and under-investment in the development and maintenance of basic water infrastructure.