ADB grants US $1.5 million for water and sanitation

The African Development Bank has approved a grant of about US $1.5 million to finance a water and sanitation study in The Gambia, a news release from the Bank said on Wednesday. The study hopes to assess long and medium term water and sanitation requirements over the next 25 years by providing a strategic development plan. It will also help design a project to meet immediate demands in the eight administrative centres of Kanifing, Brikama, Mansakonko, Kerewan, Jangjangbureh, Kantaur, Basse and the capital, Banjul. It will involve a master plan for the eight towns, and a feasibility study to determine a technically and economically sound project will be prepared to highlight areas of immediate priority in those towns, the release said. According to United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report of 2001, some 62 percent of the Gambia's population of 1.3 million use improved water sources, while 37 percent use adequate sanitation facilities.