Construction of Kiffa drinking water supply system in Mauritania to begin

Construction works of the Kiffa drinking water supply system in Mauritania is set to commence. This follows obtaining of the project’s initial funding.

The government made the announcement and confirmed receipt of the US $100M initial financing from Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). The loan agreement was signed recently between the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Al-Marshad, Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Ousmane Mamadou Kane, and Mohamed El-Hassan Ould Boukhris, Mauritania’s Minister of Water and Sanitation.

The water project involves construction of construct raw water collection facilities from the Senegal River to supply the town of Kiffa. It also includes the construction of facilities for the transportation, treatment, storage and distribution of potable water.

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Demand for drinking water

A total of US $317M is needed to fully implement the drinking water supply project which is intended to secure the supply of drinking water for 550,000 people in 92 localities in Nouakchott until 2035. Mauritania is counting on the support of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to finance the remaining.

In the Mauritanian capital, the current demand for drinking water is estimated at 170,000 m3 per day, while the production capacity is around 55,000 m3, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB). This is justified by the fact that Mauritania has only one source of supply, the Trarza aquifer, located in the east of the country.

The SFD funding is a response to the call for financial mobilization launched by the Mauritanian government in November 2021, as part of the water sharing mechanism planned by the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS).