Clean Water and Sanitation for Peru's Coastal Cities

Chimbote and Nuevo Chimbote sit on Peru's north coast, around 450 km north of Lima. Barely 70% of their metropolitan area has basic drinking water coverage, with supply running for at most 12 hours a day on average and at pressures below urban standards. Sanitation coverage is similarly around 70%, but most wastewater is still discharged untreated into the ocean. Water supplies rely heavily on three rivers whose flow regimes are seasonal and increasingly variable due to climate change. 

Objectives

This project supports Peru's "Grandes Ciudades" programme, led by the National Urban Sanitation Programme(PNUS). It finances large infrastructure works along with detailed engineering, supervision and project management. EU-funded technical assistance ensures long-term sustainability and builds the capacity of PNUS and SEDACHIMBOTE, the public water utility serving Chimbote and Nuevo Chimbote. 

The project contributes to the EU's Equality Flagship under the Global Gateway Green Deal for Peru and encourages the participation of European companies in construction works. 

Project activities

The project has three components: 

• Drinking water system expansion and improvement, funded by AFD.
• Sewerage system expansion and improvement, funded by AFD.
• Capacity building, funded by the EU. 

(Expected) Results

The project will deliver: 

• Around 595 km of new or rehabilitated water and sewer networks.
• Around 55,000 new drinking water household connections and 47,000 new wastewater connections, reachingunderserved and low-income areas.
• A fourfold increase in drinking water treatment capacity.
• A socially equitable and gender-sensitive tariff framework and connection subsidy scheme for lower-income households.
• Training for around 50 staff from PNUS and SEDACHIMBOTE, alongside modernised tools for planning, financial, technical and commercial management and a Gender Action Plan for SEDACHIMBOTE.
• Studies on service quality, climate risk and access barriers, particularly for informal settlements, women-headed households and people with disabilities. 

Implementing partners

AFD