September 16, 2022
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $100 million loan to strengthen El Salvador’s water and sanitation sector. Approximately 120,000 households will directly benefit from improved drinking water services in the San Salvador Metropolitan Area.
The IDB’s support will help optimize the performance and sustainability of the executing agency—Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado—which is El Salvador’s public water utility. The Central American country will use the funds to improve the continuity of drinking water services in metropolitan San Salvador, reduce levels of non-revenue water, make the Zona Norte system that supplies the metropolitan area more energy efficient, and enhance business management at the water agency.
The loan will raise the quality of life and well-being of 1.8 million inhabitants of metropolitan San Salvador by giving them access to sustainable basic services. Progress will materialize as better financial and operational performance at the Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado and as modernized operations.
This investment is aligned with the climate action pillar of the IDB Group’s Vision 2025—its roadmap to recovery and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The loan will be disbursed over the course of five years. It has a 25-year repayment term, a 5.5-year grace period, and an interest rate based on SOFR.