Supporting the development of a public-private partnership model for common-use water and wastewater facilities in Uganda is the goal of a U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) grant that was awarded to the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment (MWLE) of Uganda. The MWLE will use the $414,128 grant to fund a feasibility study that will examine the technical, financial, legal and structural aspects of such a partnership in the case of the proposed Jinja-Njeru Water and Wastewater Project.
The grant was conferred in a signing ceremony held at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala. Jimmy Kolker, U.S. ambassador to Uganda, and Bezalel Kabanda, MWLE permanent secretary, signed a grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. and Ugandan governments. Ned Cabot, USTDA regional director for Sub-Saharan Africa, witnessed the grant signing.
The USTDA funded study will focus on the municipalities of Njeru and Jinja, where several large Ugandan industries are located. Nile Breweries, Ltd., a subsidiary of the South African Breweries Miller Group in Uganda, first raised the concept of a public-private partnership model to encourage the development of new common-use water and wastewater facilities in the area.
The project is expected to have a significant impact on the Nile River and Lake Victoria system, helping local stakeholders to comply with local, national and international standards for water treatment. The USTDA grant also supports the goals of the Nile Basin Initiative, which was established by the United Nations Development Program, to improve the quality and sustainability of water resources in the region.
The opportunity to participate in the feasibility study will be available on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Interested U.S. firms should submit proposals directly to the MWLE for consideration, following the instructions in the Federal Business Opportunities announcement. The MWLE will select the U.S. contractor that will conduct the feasibility study.
Source: U.S. Trade and Development Agency
