The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Myanmar today signed agreements for a $60 million loan and $4 million grant to provide Mandalay—the country’s second largest city—with a sustainable, modern wastewater and drainage management system.
Signatories for the government included Daw Nwe Nwe Win, Director General of the Treasury Department at the Ministry of Planning and Finance; and Dr. Ye Lwin, Mayor of Mandalay City and Minister of Development Affairs of Mandalay Regional Government. ADB was represented by Winfried Wicklein, ADB’s Country Director in Myanmar. Also attending the ceremony were Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, Chief Minister of Mandalay Region, and U Maung Maung Win, Union Deputy Minister of Planning and Finance.
“The project will improve Mandalay’s urban infrastructure and service quality, benefiting citizens and helping to spur the city’s sustainable growth,” said Mr. Wicklein. “A strong focus will be placed on innovation, including through support for a biogas-generating system and sludge stabilization as part of the wastewater treatment plant.”
Mandalay’s enormous potential as an economic hub is constrained by substandard urban services. The existing piped-water supply system serves only 55% of the population and for only 10 hours per day on average. There is no piped sewerage system, nor a centralized wastewater treatment plant.
The project will build Mandalay’s first centralized wastewater collection and treatment plant to reduce the direct discharge of wastewater into canals and creeks. Awareness programs will be conducted for residents on the importance of better water services to good health, for example by reducing water-borne diseases such as dengue.
The project will be cofinanced by €40 million loans from the Agence Française de Développement and a €8 million grant from the European Union.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region.
