Pyigyitagon water supply, Myanmar

Who is our client

The project promoter is Ballast Nedam International Projects B.V. and the supporting partner is Vitens Evides International B.V. The activities will be complementary to WaterWorX, the SDG-6 program of the Dutch water utilities, in which Vitens Evides will provide operational support to Mandalay City Development Committee. Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon.

Funding objective

Construction of a water supply system for Pyigyitagon: Pyigyitagon is the poorest of six urban Mandalay townships, with an estimated population of approximately 320,000 people. Currently >70% of the households in Pyigyitagon are not connected to piped water supply, causing problems such as the use of unprotected or unsafe water sources, shortage of water availability and uncontrolled groundwater extraction via drilling of private wells.

Through this project, an integrated water supply system from source to tap will be constructed consisting of raw water intake from the Dohtawadi river combined with a water treatment plant, transmission pipes, a clear water reservoir, and overhead tanks. Around 30,000 customers will be connected and receive clean drinking water. The new system will be managed by the Mandalay City Development Committee, which is responsible for water supply and sanitation in Mandalay. As this project will increase the customer base by about 30%, the project includes an integrated staff capacity development and organization-building program. Also included are a customer Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) needs assessment and a WASH behavior change campaign.

The funding provided was used for the preliminary project design, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Feasibility study, WASH needs survey and the organizational expansion and staff development plan for the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC).

Funding from DA allowed Ballast Nedam International to develop a technically sound and sustainable project for Mandalay City Development Committee to achieve their SDG 6 goals. As the project was developed to a high standard and in accordance with Myanmar policies and guidelines, the Myanmar parliament decided to directly award a contract to Ballast Nedam for implementation. Currently the project is in advanced negotiations with two financial institutions and RVO to provide further financing for the implementation phase.

Why we fund this project

The project aims to provide safely managed water supply for 30,000 connections, relating to approximately 168,000 people. This contributes directly to SDG 6 by helping achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.