The Inter-American Development Bank today announced the approval of a $100 million loan for Brazilian public utility CAGECE to help finance a program to improve drinking water and sanitation services in the northeastern state of Ceará.
The IDB resources will help improve water supply quality along the beaches and in the rivers crossing the state capital, Fortaleza, by expanding coverage of wastewater collection and treatment from the present level of 52 percent to 70 percent in 2008.
Under the program, 63,000 new sewerage connections will be made in areas not currently served and trunk sewers will be built on the banks of the Maranguapinho, Cocó and Ceará rivers. Collected wastewater will be processed in an existing pretreatment and ocean disposal system.
The program will also benefit towns with 15 thousand to 100 thousand inhabitants by expanding coverage of drinking water services from 75 percent at present to 80 percent, as well as by increasing coverage of sanitation services from 13 percent to 35 percent in 2008.
The program’s goals are based on the Millennium Development Goals, under which United Nations member countries have agreed to halve the percentage of their population without access to safe drinking water sources.
The program will also assist CAGECE (Companhia de Água e Esgoto do Ceará) in its efforts to improve its operations management.
This project addresses two strategic areas for the IDB in Brazil, poverty reduction and the environment, as it seeks to improve the population’s health and environmental protection in Ceará by providing better drinking water and sanitation services.
The IDB loan, which will be guaranteed by the Federative Republic of Brazil and the state of Ceará, was granted for 25 years, with a five-year grace period and at a variable interest rate.