DUSHANBE, February 9, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday February 8, Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev received a delegation of representatives of the World Bank, led by Ms. Chiara Bronchi, World Bank Country Manager in Tajikistan.

Shavkat Saidov, a spokesman for the Dushanbe mayor’s office, said the sides exchanged views on the new concept of further development of the water supply system in the Tajik capital as continuation of the Dushanbe Water Supply Project II in Tajikistan.

In the course of the talks, Ubaidulloyev noted that the second phase of the project provided for allocation of a US$12 million grant by the World Bank and US$3 million from the Dushanbe budget.

The mayor expressed hope that further expansion of cooperation between the sides in improving work of Dushanbe’s municipal waterworks, Vodokanal (DVK) and installing water meters would yield good results.

He assured the World Bank representatives that the Dushanbe administration will fulfill its obligations on the project, Saidov said.

The primary objective of the project, Dushanbe Water Supply II, is to improve water supply service delivery and cost-efficiency in selected areas of Dushanbe.  This objective is designed to be achieved through the following components: 1) priority rehabilitation works; 2) water demand management; 3) management strengthening and capacity building of DVK; and 4) project management.

The appraisal authorization is scheduled on April 1, 2011. The project is expected to go to the Board for approval on May 31, 2011.