Water Supply and
                                                                                             Sanitation Improvement
                                    IN CAMBODIA
                                                                                                             Project

Background
Cambodia achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water supply and made progress
toward the sanitation targets in 2015 but the persistent low coverage of piped water and the lack of
sanitation infrastructure present a huge challenge to the timely achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for
all by 2030.
Only 21 percent of people in Cambodia have access to piped water supply to their home, and this
access is concentrated in larger towns. Phnom Penh is well covered with piped water supply, while
Siem Reap City and a handful of provincial and district towns have limited coverage. These water
supply systems are operated by autonomous water authorities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap City,
and by public waterworks departments in the rest of the country.                                       Location: Siem Reap, Kampong
Only 41 percent of people receive sanitation                                                           Thom, Mondul Kiri, and
services and 11 percent of households are                                                              Battambang
connected to a sewerage network. Even where
wastewater is collected, only a small portion is
treated. Currently, only Siem Reap City, Preah
Sihanouk Ville and Battambang provincial towns                                                            Financiers:
have wastewater treatment facilities, but these                                                          • International Development
suffer from a lack of financial resources (including                                                        Association (World Bank),
low revenue collection) and capacity constraints.                                                           US$55.00 million,
Fecal sludge management which addresses                                                                  • Royal Government of
sanitation issue among households that are not                                                              Cambodia, US$2.5 million
connecting to sewerage network is currently
underdeveloped.
Responsibility for providing water supply and
sanitation services is instilled, respectively, in the
                                                                                                          Implementing Agencies:
Ministry of Industry and Handicraft and Ministry
                                                                                                         • Ministry of Industry and
of Public Works and Transport.
                                                                                                            Handicraft
About the Project                                                                                        • Ministry of Public Works
The project development objective is to increase access to piped water supply and improved                  and Transport
sanitation services and strengthen the operational performance of service providers in selected
towns and communes. The project has two components:
                                                                                                          Approval Date:
Component 1: Provincial Water Supply:                                                                     March 28, 2019
  • Supporting public provincial water service providers in selected areas to expand water
     distribution networks and increase production capacity to serve more customers and health            Closing Date:
                                                                                                          June 28, 2024
     and school facilities within the service area.
  • Supporting the development of small-scale piped water supply systems in selected
     communes outside the main provincial towns that are not yet served but where the
                                                                                                         Contact:
     population has reached the size and density suitable for piped water supply.
                                                                                                         Phyrum Kov
  • Supporting technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft to develop an
                                                                                                         World Bank Task Team Leader
     urban water supply strategy, including policies on cost recovery and investment planning.
                                                                                                         E-mail: pkov@worldbank.org
Component 2: Provincial Sanitation Improvement:
  • Supporting the development and construction of secondary and tertiary sewers to the
     existing main sewer transmission lines in Siem Reap City to enable households and
     businesses to connect directly to the city’s sewerage system.
  • Improving the management of fecal sludge services in Siem Reap City including collection,              www.worldbank.org
     transport and treatment of fecal sludge.
  • Providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in developing an
     urban sanitation strategy, including policies on cost recovery (for example, tariff and           www.youtube.com/worldbank
     subsidies), city-wide inclusive sanitation, fecal sludge management and a sanitation
     investment plan.                                                                                   www.twitter.com/worldbank
Beneficiaries and Results
The project aims to provide water supply services to about 105,000 people in targeted towns/           www.facebook.com/worldbank
communes, and sanitation services to about 27,000 people in Siem Reap City.