USAID IUWASH PLUS Launches USAID and SECO Partnership to Improve Seven PDAMs’ Performances
USAID IUWASH PLUS conducted a ceremony to launch the partnership between the governments of Indonesia, United States and Switzerland through the USAID-SECO Partnership to improve the performance of seven PDAMs in West Java and Central Java in Jakarta on June 26, 2019.
Through this new partnership, Switzerland Government contributes US$4.5 million from SECO to support USAID IUWASH PLUS to implement the non-revenue water (NRW) reduction and efficiency energy in seven PDAMs in West Java and Central Java. The seven PDAMs include PDAM Karawang district, Depok city, Bogor district, Magelang city, Surakarta city, Sukoharjo district, and Magelang district.
The event was attended by the U.S Ambassador, Switzerland Ambassador, Minister of Bappenas (National Development Planning), Deputy Minister of Bappenas for Regional Development, Director General of Human Settlement of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MPWH), USAID Mission Director, Deputy Head of SECO, representatives of Bappenas, MPWH, USAID, SECO, journalists, and USAID IUWASH PLUS.
The ceremony commenced with the remarks from the Switzerland Ambassador, Kurt Kunz, and the U.S Ambassador, Joseph R. Donovan Jr.
The Switzerland Ambassador, Kurt Kunz, explained, "PDAMs often suffer from high water loss. Some PDAMs we will be working with lose up to one-third of their total production. Contribution from Switzerland Government is expected to enable the PDAMs to expand and improve service, enhance financial performance, and reduce energy consumption."
"We applauded the commitment and enthusiasm of the seven local water utilities to contribute resources to this worthwhile project. Once implemented, we understand that this program will be scaled up by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to benefit many more people around the country," said the U.S Ambassador, Joseph R. Donovan Jr.
Following the remarks from the Ambassadors, the representatives from the seven districts/cities signed a letter to show their commitment to fully support the NRW reduction and efficiency energy increase in their respective areas.
To conclude the event, the Minister of Bappenas, Bambang Brodjonegoro, delivered his closing remarks. In his speech, the minister highly appreciated the supports from the U.S and Switzerland Governments to increase PDAMs' capacity in improving and expanding their services to reach more people in Indonesia.
"The NRW reduction and energy efficiency increase are essential for the PDAMs because inefficiency could bring adverse impacts to the PDAMs' ability to expand services and improve water access. I am looking forward to seeing this model to support our goal to provide 10 million house connections in the next five year," the Minister said.
In the future, the technical assistance from USAID IUWASH PLUS in the non-revenue reduction and efficiency energy increase is expected to synergize with the National Urban Water Supply Program (NUWSP) through which the PDAMs could access financial packages provided by the NUWSP.
Original article has been published here: "USAID IUWASH PLUS Launches USAID and SECO Partnership to Improve Seven PDAMs' Performances"
