This Thursday, June 14, 2018, the financing agreement for the program for access to drinking water in rural areas was signed between the government of Benin represented by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Romuald. WADAGNI and the World Bank represented by the Director of Operations, Mr. Pierre LAPORTE and Ms. Katrina SHARKEY, Resident Representative of the World Bank in Benin. The Program for Universal Access to Drinking Water in Rural Areas, called the AQUA-VIE Program, aims to enable 1.7 million Beninese living in rural areas to access drinking water services through: – the construction and rehabilitation of more than 600 Village Water Supply Systems (AEV), – the construction of more than 34,000 private connections and – 3,300 standpipes. In her speech, Mrs. Katrina SHARKEY indicated that this total funding of US $ 220 million makes the AQUA-VIE program, the largest investment operation of the World Bank Group in Benin. She also praised the record time taken for her participatory preparation. The Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Romuald WADAGNI, recalled that the water sector is one of the priority sectors of the PAG and renewed the government’s commitment to provide drinking water to all Beninese in the horizon 2021. He thanked the World Bank group for its support both in the preparation phase and in the mobilization of resources.
