AKIPRESS.COM - The World Bank and the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services (MHCS) co-hosted a roundtable to discuss water supply and sanitation sector reform priorities to promote sustainable service delivery in Uzbekistan.
Development partners including Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Commission, and French Agency for International Development participated in the event, along with other representatives from the Government including Ministry of Finance and State Committee for Investments.
“To improve the delivery of utility services to the population, the Government takes measures to modernize water supply and sewage systems across the country using public and foreign investment into the sector. For this end, in 2017–2018, public funds totaling over UZS1.2 trillion were allocated from the state budget. It is expected that over 450,000 citizens will get better access to safe drinking water after the completion of construction works and launch of new water supply facilities in 2018”, said Minister of Housing and Communal Services Muzaffar Saliev.
Participants discussed key issues identified by the MHCS in their sector analysis, including qualification and skills gaps for sector professionals, motivation and incentives for SUE Suvokova staff, corporate Governance arrangements including personnel performance evaluation systems, high energy consumption and water losses, information and communication systems, asset management and inefficient tariff policies and procedures.
The participants highlighted that efforts should continue to focus on efficiency gains related to metering (over 2 million households still remain unmetered, or 56% of all consumers in the country), non-revenue water (in 2017, reported loss reached 469 million m3, or 32% of total water production, that at today’s average tariff equals to US$37.5 million of lost revenue) and energy use (640 million kWh were consumed by the Suvokova in 2017, or around 1.2% of total electricity consumption in the country, that at today’s average energy price equals to US$19.5 million). For instance, if SUE Suvokova invests in energy efficient technologies, it will result in savings US$30-40 million over a 5-year period, and savings over $100 million will be reached as energy prices increase.
Today, 17.3 million people (53% of all consumers) have access to water supply services through SUE Suvokova. Meanwhile, estimated 6.4 million people (19%) get services from other providers, and some 9.1 million (28%) don’t have access to water supply services or rely on self-supply. The roundtable also considered Swiss experience of community-based service provision in rural areas and the need to develop a regulatory framework for alternative service providers.