WASHINGTON, May 17–The World Bank approved today a $75 million International Development Association (IDA)* credit to improve urban drainage, selected public services and climate resilience for the urban poor of Greater Antananarivo.
650,000 people living in the low-income neighborhoods, within the first and fourth arrondissements of the Commune Urbaine d’Antananarivo and the peri-urban communes of Anosizato Andrefana, Andranonahoatra and Bemasoandro Itaosy, will benefit directly from drainage, sanitation, and road infrastructure. In addition, an estimated 2 million people will benefit indirectly from flood protection investments and citywide infrastructure improvements.
This project, which will be implemented by the Ministry attached to the Presidency in charge of Presidential Projects, Country Planning and Equipment, will also seek to build the capacity of local authorities and service delivery agencies in order to institute an integrated approach to municipal governance and urban development so as to better manage existing settlements and urban growth. The project will also support the Commune Urbaine d’Antananarivo in its efforts to increase local revenue mobilization in a transparent and accountable way and enhance their capacities in urban planning and management.
“The plain of Antananarivo has always been vulnerable to floods and the living conditions in these neighborhoods are very poor. The latest flood, in January 2015, affected more than 93,000 people," said Benjamina RAMANANTSOA RAMARCEL, Minister in charge of Presidential Projects, Country Planning and Equipment. "With this project, people will live more in dignity by avoiding their homes being flooded every rainy season. Moreover, in the long run, this project will contribute to restructure the urban landscape of the agglomeration and the city by reintegrating these forgotten neighborhoods into the urban system. This is the first major investment on the C3 Canal since its development.”
The major rehabilitation works on the C3 Canal and flood protection embankments along the Ikopa River will help remove storm waters from the urban plains of Antananarivo, reduce flood risk and improve population mobility through the rehabilitation of the banks.
“Urbanization has the potential of offering better economic opportunities for all if it is designed and planned in an inclusive way. With urban poverty and inequity emerging as long-term development challenges, the World Bank has decided to expand its engagement in Antananarivo. This urban upgrading program will not only reduce poor citizens’ exposure to flood risks and improve their quality of life but also aims to facilitate their access to services and greater accessibility to the urban economy,” said Coralie Gevers, Country manager of the World Bank in Madagascar.
The implementation of this project is in coordination with the Lalankely phase 3 initiated by the Malagasy Government and financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union in the capital and 27 peripheral communes.
PRESS RELEASE NO: 2018/131/AFR
Contacts
Antananarivo
Dia Styvanley
+261 32 05 001 27
dstyvanley@worldbank.org
Washington
Ekaterina Svirina
+1-202-458-1042
esvirina@worldbank.org