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UK’s $2 bn unlocks funding for 2 new climate resilient water infrastructure projects in Egypt, Senegal
UK’s Minister of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell announced that the $2 billion Room to Run guarantee, which the UK announced at COP26, has unlocked funding for 2 new climate resilient water infrastructure projects in Egypt and Senegal.
The Room to Run Guarantee, first announced at COP-26, is a $2 billion guarantee provided to the African Development Bank by the UK with $1.6 billion in cover, and with City of London insurers covering $400 million. By partially protecting the Bank against the risk of default on some of its loans, the Room to Roam Guarantee enables the Bank to provide an additional $2 billion of climate finance to Africa by 2027, with a 50-50 split between adaptation and mitigation.
Mitchell has committed to supporting the delivery of green finance across Africa at the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Egypt.
Mitchell made the announcement at a joint press briefing in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings.
In Egypt, the Water Recycling for Agriculture – Gabel El Asfar Wastewater Treatment Project, worth almost £70 million, will expand the capacity of a water treatment plant so it can provide clean recycled water to serve 70,000 acres of new arable land, benefiting 5 million more people than at present. “Egypt is a close partner for the UK,” the minister said.
The project is the largest in Africa wastewater treatment plant in terms of capacity and the second largest in the world. It produces up to 60% of the electricity it needs for running the plant.
Egypt’s International Cooperation Minister Dr. Rania Mashat described the Gabel El Asfar Wastewater Treatment Project as a very special one for Egypt and stressed the importance of partnerships in crowding in new resources for development projects in Africa.
“Creating headroom for multilateral development banks (MDBs) to extend financing to emerging economies for climate action is a key objective of MDB reforms. We commend the UK government for their initiative: the Room 2 Run Sovereign Guarantee, supporting the African Development Bank Group with $2 billion to help the continent accelerate climate action and meet the Nationally Determined Contributions,” Mashat said.
“The third stage of the project will expand to serve 5.5 million more people, emphasizing that water security is at the core of building resilience. This is an example to be followed by other governments,” she added.
In Senegal, funding worth more than £16 million will support a project to improve access to clean water and sanitation services to 1.45 million people through the creation of more than 13,000 new latrines, 5 surface water treatment plants and a 70-kilometer sewage network which will serve more than 250,000 households.
Mitchell said the projects were exactly the kind of investments we really hope to unlock through Room2Run. “The project will have an incredible impact on people’s health and livelihoods,” Mitchell said of the Senegal project.
African Development Bank Senior Vice President Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala said that rising water and decreasing rainfall are among the climate change impacts threatening Senegal’s development goals. “Today’s announcement is significant. We are looking forward to seeing how this risk financing helps these first projects reach measurable outcomes and impact the communities we serve,” she said.
Senegal’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Oulimata Sarr said the Senegal project – the Access to Safe Water and Sanitation Services to build Sustainable Resilience in Disadvantaged Areas – comes under the country’s Access to “Water for All” pillar of its development plan.
“The commitment to provide climate finance is real and the amount ($2 billion) is showing scale,” Sarr said as she thanked the UK government. She said Senegal would welcome any funding that would enable them to scale up and fast track climate finance.
“I think that this is what this funding is providing to us,” Sarr said.
It is worth mentioning that the UK Cabinet minister Mitchell gave a speech at the AfDB conference in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh outlining the UK’s commitment to reforming the international financial system so that it can deliver the green finance needed to fight extreme poverty and tackle climate change.
Speaking after the visit, Mitchell said countries across Africa are facing some of the most devastating impacts of climate change but historically have received only a small proportion of the green finance available.
The UK is committed to changing that through our agenda to reform the International Financial System and support for the African Development Bank’s vital work.
The minister also met with AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina and counterparts from Ghana, Senegal, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia to discuss how to ensure that finance from the Bank can reach countries at risk of climate-related disasters more quickly and effectively.
The minister last month set out his new vision for the UK’s international development work, saying the climate and development crises “are not a choice, but 2 sides of the same coin which need to be resolved together”.
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