The World Bank Board of Executive Directors  have approved a credit of US$500 million for the development of the Niger Basin. The program will be divided in two phases spanning twelve years. The first phase of five years focuses on the five countries on the River's main stem. It will be funded with US$186 million divided in three International Development Association [1] (IDA) credits, US$9 million to Benin, US$18 million to Mali, and US$135 million to Nigeria; and two grants, US$9 million to Guinea, and US$15 million to Niger.

The second phase will include the remaining four riparian countries, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Chad and Côte d'Ivoire, as agreed in the Niger Basin Sustainable Development Action Program.
 
The Niger Basin Water Resources Development and Ecosystems Management program
will achieve a sustainable increase of the water resources productivity, boost
hydropower generation and foster economic growth in the riparian countries. To
create a collaborative framework to benefit the 110 million people living in
the Basin, the project will first strengthen the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) as
a critical governing structure managing the common goods and ensuring adequate
coordination.
 
“The project fits the World Bank's strategy of supporting Africa's regional
integration effort, which results in cross-border economic and social benefits,
promotes country and regional ownership, and provides a platform for policy
harmonization,” said Mark Tomlinson, Director of the Regional Integration
Department in the Africa Region of the World Bank in Washington. “The Niger
Basin's tremendous potential for development and investment is still
under-developed: only 20 percent of the irrigable land is developed, only one
fifth of the hydropower potential is generated and only 30 of the 200 billion
cubic meters of annual river discharge is stored. This is the rationale for the
World Bank's involvement, coupled with the riparian countries' commitment to
move away from unilateral planning to coordinated regional development actions.”
 
Presently, seven out of the nine riparian countries are among the bottom 20
poorest countries in the world [2] and nearly 75 percent of the population
lives in rural areas, depending heavily on the water infrastructure for their
food security and social well-being. This program is therefore a critical input
in achieving the regional growth agenda and providing an integrated framework
to tap into the many existing opportunities.
 
Apart from strengthening NBA's institutional framework, the program will
rehabilitate and optimize the regional water infrastructure. This is central to
the riparian countries' development strategy as it will increase opportunities
for multipurpose, income-generation activities such as irrigation, fisheries
and ecosystem regeneration. The upgrading of the Kainji and Jebba hydropower
plants in Nigeria is a key component as it will reduce the severe regional
energy crisis, provide cheaper and reliable power, and supply additional energy
to Niger and Benin.
 
“This program is a unique opportunity to jointly develop the water resources,
promote shared benefits and foster regional integration,” said Ousmane Dione,
the World Bank Task Team Leader for the project. “In a rare occasion on
international waters negotiations and despite the stakes, the riparian
countries embraced the vision of hydro-brotherhood with the amazing positive
role of Nigeria, instead of the usual hydropolitics and associated competition.
Developing a collaborative framework to benefit such a large population
requires strengthened regional institutions but also long term commitment from
the donors to ensure that investments are not neglected and benefits lost due
to lack of proper management, operation and maintenance.”
 
Overall, the three components of the program are:
• institutional strengthening and capacity building of NBA and the national
water resources management institutions;
• rehabilitation, optimization and development of regional water infrastructure
including the strategic selection and planning of new dams;
• sustainable management of selected degraded ecosystems and rehabilitation of
small water infrastructure to support irrigation schemes, watershed restoration
and agro-forestry.
 
 
[1] The credits are provided on standard International Development Association
(IDA) terms, with a commitment fee of 0.35 percent, a service charge of 0.75
percent over a 40-year period of maturity which includes a 10-year grace period.
[2] The Human Development Report, 2004, UNDP Human Development Index

SOURCE : World Bank