Georgia will receive a EUR 200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to rehabilitate drinking water systems in villages. The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili and ADB Resident Representative in Georgia Lesley Bearman Lahm.
The executing agency of the program will be the United Water Supply Company under the Ministry of Infrastructure.
According to ADB, the results-based loan program - “Georgia: Clean, Local and Equitable Access to Water Resources” - is aimed at ensuring sustainable, resilient, and inclusive supply of drinking water to the population living in rural areas of Georgia. The program will expand and rehabilitate water infrastructure in at least 100 villages across Georgia, ensuring uninterrupted access to clean drinking water.
“The new program continues ADB’s decade-long experience in supporting water supply, which has brought 24-hour water supply to 13 cities in Georgia. The increased support will improve living conditions and economic opportunities in rural Georgia, where investments in outdated Soviet-era water systems are lacking,” said Lesley Bearman Lahm, ADB’s Country Director for Georgia.
ADB notes that the program supports Georgia’s development strategy “Vision 2030” and the government’s efforts to eliminate disparities in water supply services between cities and villages. It will also contribute to the implementation of the national Water Agenda, including the development of a long-term strategy within the framework of the renewed Water Supply and Sanitation Vision for the post-2030 period.
