BOAD is engaged with the Government of Benin for the final resolution of the drinking water issue in the city of Parakou and its suburbs. With the signing, on Thursday, July 7, 2016, of an important loan agreement between the Bank and SONEB, this is the final resolution of the drinking water problems in Parakou and its suburbs which is now a at crucial turning point.

The Chairman of BOAD, Christian Adovelande, and the CEO of SONEB, David Babalola, signed this Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Cotonou, in the presence of the President of the Board of Directors of SONEB, Emile Louis Paraïso, a loan agreement amounting to 5.575 billion CFA francs, whereby the Bank will participate in the financing of a drinking water supply system strengthening project in the city of Parakou and its surroundings. The ceremony was witnessed by the Member of Parliament of the 8th constituency, Rachidi Gbadamassi, and Councilor Charles Toko, representating Parakou’s populations.

The signing of this loan agreement will mark the beginning of the effective implementation, by SONEB, of one of the largest water projects in the city of Parakou in the last decade. The project aims to permanently put an end to the ever increasing difficulties faced by the populations of Parakou and its surroundings to access drinking water. It should be pointed out that the Parakou DWS system is currently characterized by an inadequate supply of water (450m3/h) or 10.8 million liters/day against a need estimated to be 1200 m3/h that is 28,800,000 liters/day. The consequence is an unsteady supply of water to customers and the inability of SONEB to fully meet the demands for connections and extensions of the water network to the uncovered areas of the city.

The implementation of the project, which will occur very soon, will solve these problems, improve the technical and business service provision of SONEB and promote the achievement by Benin of the Sustainable Development Goals. More specifically, this project will increase the capacity of the raw water intake station of Okpara and the capacity of the water treatment plant of Banikanni from 450 m3/h to 1700 m3/h; increase the storage capacity by building a 2,000 m3 tank and a water tower of 500 m3; connect the villages of Kpassa and Kika to SONEB’s water network; extend SONEB’s water network to about 298 km and carry out 7,000 connections at low cost.

The Director General of SONEB, David Babalola, said the project is one of the largest water projects for the city of Parakou in the last decade. "We find the project innovative because it takes into account all the major aspects of the chain of a modern DWS system," Mr. Babalola said, while expressing his gratitude to BOAD for its constant support to the development and the well-being of the populations. BOAD’s President, Christian Adovelande, also said: "This project is perfectly consistent with BOAD’s intervention strategy in the drinking water supply and sanitation sector. I note with satisfaction that it will have beneficial effects on SONEB’s operations".

Askanda Bashabi, Communication SONEB