Benin Gets AfDB Financing For Stormwater Drainage Project
The US$178 million loan will support drainage improvements in four cities.
Benin has secured €164 million (US$178 million) in financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a stormwater drainage and flooding resilience project.
The loan comprises €118.8 million from the AfDB directly and €45.5 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund co-financed with China. Benin’s government will contribute €13.8 million to the project.
The Secondary Cities Stormwater Drainage Project will develop stormwater drainage infrastructure in four cities: Porto-Novo, Ouidah, Bohicon and Abomey.
The scope of work includes the construction of 42.7km of primary and secondary collectors and 62.3km of culverts, the asphalting of 18.7km of roads and the paving of 16.1km.
It also covers the construction of 72 classrooms, 18 blocks of toilets with 36 hand-washing kits, housing for health workers, four drying sheds for fish smoking, two boreholes equipped with hand pumps, a public square and a public garden. Some 5,521 seedlings will also be planted, in addition to the reforestation of 17.2 hectares.
Other elements include setting up a waste management and facility maintenance mechanism and creating a water retention basin and a market garden area.
The project aims to improve the living conditions of one million people living in the four cities, by strengthening resilience to flooding.
In recent decades, Benin has experienced the recurrence of extreme weather events and the disruption of seasonal rainfall patterns due to climate change. The number of communities at high risk of flooding has risen from 22 in 2010 to 35 in 2022, according to the AfDB.
Photo: Porto Novo, Benin (© Britta Franke | Dreamstime)
Add a comment
ConstructAfrica welcomes lively debate, but will not publish comments that are threatening, libellous or abusive.