Access to Clean Water is Still a Challenge in Rural Areas

Source: Vientiane Times

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is aiming to supply 85 percent of all people living in urban areas with clean and safe water by 2025 and to increase this figure to 90 percent by 2030.

At present, only 25 percent of the population across the country has access to piped water, with the figure being much higher in urban areas at 77.4 percent.

“It is a challenge to meet targets,” Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mrs. Vilaykham Phosalath, said on Tuesday when addressing a project steering committee meeting under the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project.

The project will help to achieve the ministry’s goal to extend and improve the water supply system and sanitation and ensure their operation is sustainable.

The meeting was held in Vientiane, organized by the Ministry’s Department of Water Supply.

Meeting attendees listened to an overview of the Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project and the conditions attached to the project.

The cost of the project is about US$50 million, funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and will run from 2024-2030.

The aim of the project is to provide access to clean and safe water and sanitation for the public under the government’s water and sanitation strategy for 2022-2030.

This will be achieved by improving the infrastructure used for water and sanitation systems.

The project will build capacity in the water and sanitation sector at the central and local levels and among water supply enterprises. It will also improve manuals, regulations, and institutions relating to the water supply and sanitation sector.