Uganda: Small Scale Infrastructure Provider (SSIP) Program Water
In small towns and rural areas of Uganda, where 90% of the population lives, water shortages are part of daily life. In these areas, 60% of the population lacks access to safe water, and water borne diseases and infant mortality are widespread. To help the Ugandan government achieve greater efficiency and improve access to water through public-private partnerships (PPP), IFC signed a mandate to implement the Uganda Small Scale Infrastructure Provider (SSIP) Water Program in 2007.
Challenges in the water sector in Uganda stem from a number of issues including weak capacity at all levels and lack of access to financing for capital investments and expansion of piped water services. As part of the program, IFC implemented a set of pilot transactions to modify the flawed contractual arrangements in use, improve the capacity of the key stakeholders, and model strategies to access financing. In June 2010, IFC awarded the first
five-year management contract to a private operator for the town of Busembatia. The winning bidder, Trandint Limited, offered the lowest total bid price of $270,000. The advisory work was supported by the Austrian Development Agency. The Global Partnership on Output Based Aid provided funding for capital investment costs to support the private operator.
To learn more about this sector, visit Water and Sanitation Public-Private Partnerships.
