The Diplomat
The Spanish Cooperation will grant a credit of 36.58 million euros to Ecuador, through the Fund for the Promotion of Development (FONPRODE), to co-finance a program to improve drinking water and sewage systems in the country’s capital, Quito.
According to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Spain and Ecuador have signed an agreement to jointly finance the Quito Drinking Water and Sewerage Program, which is expected to improve the quality of and access to drinking water, sewerage and wastewater treatment services in the capital.
The overall objective of the program is to expand and improve the drinking water and sanitation systems in Quito, contributing to the objectives of the national government’s Water and Sanitation for All Program. As a result of the different types of interventions, the program is expected to directly benefit approximately 61,000 households with an improvement in the quality of and access to potable water services in the Quito Norte area and approximately 2,700 households, which will have access to sewerage and wastewater treatment.
With an estimated total cost of 202.1 million euros, the program will be co-financed by the Spanish Cooperation through FONPRODE, which will grant a credit of 36.58 million. In addition, the Inter-American Development Bank will contribute 79.65 million and the executing agency, Empresa Pública Metropolitana de Agua Potable y Saneamiento de Quito (EPMAPS), will contribute 85.87 million euros.
The operation will mobilize Spanish resources together with those of the IDB and EPMAPS. “It also represents a new boost to Spanish Cooperation’s relations with the IDB, our strategic partner, which reinforces the intense relationship that we have maintained for years through different instruments of our Cooperation,” said the AECID.
The V Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation 2018-2021 includes Ecuador in its geographic priorities, integrating it into the group of Middle Income Association Countries, a special priority for Spanish Cooperation. Water and sanitation is a priority sector for AECID in Latin America.
The proposed operation is therefore in line with the objectives of Spanish Cooperation and contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3 Health and Well-Being, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12 Responsible Production and Consumption and SDG 13 Climate Action, and indirectly to SDG 5 Gender Equality.
This co-financing operation falls under the Spain-IDB Joint Cofinancing Framework Agreement signed in 2017. “The IDB is positioning itself as a key partner of Spanish financial cooperation when it comes to financing projects in Latin America,” the Agency highlighted. This credit granted on concessional terms will count as Official Development Assistance, and will also be recorded as a financial asset in national accounting in accordance with IGAE criteria and, therefore, will have no impact on the public deficit.
