Yangon Urban Services Improvement

Country: Myanmar
City: Yangon

Key Stakeholders and PartnersYangon City Development Committee; Yangon Regional Government; Asian Development Bank

Project Preparation Study PeriodApril 2018 – July 2019

CDIA SupportUS$ 1,018,000

Expected Downstream FinancingUS$ 180 million (ADB Loan)

Infrastructure sectorsWater Supply
Wastewater Management

CDIA priority impact areasClimate Change Mitigation and Adaptation; Environmental Improvement; Poverty Reduction

Key City Development Issues

The current YCDC-managed water supply to the 33 townships under its responsibility is limited in terms of its coverage, quantity, quality and efficiency. YCDC currently supplies 209 million gallons per day of water to 280,000 domestic connections or a population of approximately 2,050,000 which results in an effective water supply service coverage rate less than 40%. Approximately 92% of the water supplied by YCDC is from surface water, of which almost 50% is delivered to the distribution network without any treatment other than partial disinfection. Non-revenue water is high, estimated to be in excess of 60%. The city’s sewerage facilities built by the British in late 1800s serves only the central business district comprising less than 5% of the population. Inadequate water and sewerage services have resulted in severe environmental and health threats.

Details of Cooperation

CDIA supported YCDC in the preparation of project feasibility study and preliminary engineering design, and loan diligence for two sub-projects: (i) replacement of the existing open raw water channel from Ngamoeyeik reservoir to the Nyaunghnapin water treatment plant and subsequently to the Aungtagon pumping station with a dedicated raw water transmission pipeline; and (ii) construction of a new sewerage system and wastewater treatment plant serving Zone W1 and W2. The project is pipelined to a proposed ADB loan that will support urban services improvement in Yangon City.

Expected Development Outcomes

The proposed water supply component will have a very direct impact on securing the supply of potable water to Yangon and will result in a significant increase in urban resilience. This will have a positive impact for the residents of the city. Yangon is highly susceptible to climate change, particularly with regard to rainfall patterns and hence the availability of water resources. The proposed raw water transmission main will ensure that raw water losses during conveyance to the city will be kept to a minimum.