Ex-Ante Evaluation (for Japanese ODA Loans)
1. Name of the Project
Country: The Republic of Iraq
Project: Baghdad Sewerage Facilities Improvement Project (E/S)
Loan Agreement: March 17, 2009
Loan Amount: 2,141 million Yen
Borrower: The Government of the Republic of Iraq
2. Background and Necessity of the Project
After receiving significant damage economically and socially due to the long-term
economic restrictions and conflict, Iraq has been reconstructed with support from
international society after the war.
Although most of the sewer systems in Iraq were well maintained into the 1980s,
repeated conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War and following
economic sanctions started in the middle of that decade led to a lack of proper
maintenance and management. Insufficient maintenance of infrastructure causes
environmental and health problems and deteriorates conditions significantly.
Although the percentage of the nation’s population having access to a sewer
system with treatment facilities in 2000 was 28.4%, the figure had dropped to 9% in
2007 as a consequence of the Iraq War. With sewage treatment capacities dropping
between 10 to 50% of the originally planned amount, it is estimated that 50% of the
waste water collected is discharged into rivers without any treatment. Of particular
concern are the existing treatment facilities in Baghdad, which are nearly
non-operational; It is estimated that 75% of the waste water produced there is
channeled untreated to the Tigris River. Deteriorating sewer facilities leads to the
introduction of untreated sewage into water service pipes, polluting the ground water
and causing serious environmental and health problems. Given these circumstances,
the rehabilitation and improvement of sewer service infrastructures is an urgent task in
Iraq.
On the 3rd National Development Strategy announced by the Government of Iraq in
February 2007, the government sets the goals on swage system include expansion of
sewer treatment plant