Exchange of Notes for Grant Aid for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (The Project for Rural Water Supply in Tigray Region [Detailed Design])

January 26, 2010
Japanese

The Government of Japan has decided to extend grant aid (The Project for Rural Water Supply in Tigray Region [Detailed Design]) totaling 104 million JPY to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Notes to this effect were exchanged on January 26 (Tue) (local time: same day) in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, between Mr. Kinichi Komano, Japanese Ambassador to Ethiopia, and Mr. Ahmed Shide, State Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
The water supply ratio in Tigray Region, located in the northern part of Ethiopia, is only 33%, and the entire area suffers from a chronic water shortage. Due to the lack of funds and qualified engineers for water resource management, number of existing water supply facilities are decrepit or they are inadequately maintained.
This grant aid carries out the detailed design for the water supply project including the construction and repair of water supply facilities, machinery to repair water wells, and other items in ten woredas* where the ground water development is difficult due to geological features and water supply ratio is particularly low. After the completion of the project, the water supplied population in Tigray Region will increase (from approximately 420,000 people in 2006 to approximately 480,000 people in 2015) and the water supply ratio will improve (from 33% in 2006 to 38% in 2015). In addition, it is expected that health hazards caused by unsanitary water and the amount of labor required from women and children to bring water from remote existing water facilities will decrease.
This grant aid is an assistance in the field of water and hygiene, which is one of the main fields for Japanese assistance to Africa as announced at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV). It will also contribute to strengthening the relationship between Japan and Ethiopia, which has the second largest population among the Sub-Sahara African countries.

(Reference) The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia covers a land area of approximately 1.104 million square kilometers, has a population of approximately 80.7 million people (World Bank, 2008), and a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of approximately 280 USD (World Bank, 2008).

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