Governments need high-quality projects and low-cost debt to expand access and improve services. But what makes a project "high-quality"? At a minimum, three key factors must align:
1?? Bankability – A predictable revenue stream backs the investment.
2?? Impact – The project delivers on equity, safety, and sustainability goals.
3?? Implementability – There’s a clear operating model to ensure long-term success.
Yet, after many discussions at the Water Congress in Kampala, one challenge remains glaring: while concessional financing is available (interest rates as low as 2-3% from public development banks & MDBs), finding high-quality projects remains a struggle.
In the sanitation sector, the Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) perhaps best illustrates this failure –governments are seen borrowing for and installing FSTPs in their loan package with no real plans to put it to work – but yet we see this happening over and over again.
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So How Can We Improve Project Quality?
?? Small, strategic interventions can unlock huge value. In Hawassa, Ethiopia, simply repairing the road to an FSTP reduced trip costs by $8 per trip, making the plant more accessible for operators.
?? Revenue predictability drives investment. In Lusaka, Zambia, setting up a $2 monthly household fee and scheduled emptying contracts led to a 400% revenue increase—giving truck operators financial stability and unlocking new financing opportunities.
These solutions are low-cost but high-impact.
So where do we go from here?
?? Should governments and investors double down on well-functioning, private-sector-led service models?
?? Can regulators play a stronger role in ensuring public borrowing drives real service improvements?
?? How can philanthropic, corporate sustainability funds and loan packages help support low-cost/high impact interventions?
?? What are the challenges and opportunities you see in your work? What needs to stop? What deserves more attention?
Najib L. BateganyaRamona Reddy-MadurayDebjyoty MukherjeeOliver JonesJosh BryantRachel CardoneAlyse SchrecongostEmma Grace HousmanSamba GuindoLouis BoorstinWali MwalugongoRémi KauppDominic O' NeillAnton JantunenSue COATESJude ByansiKapanda KapandaAbera TesfayeDr. George Wainaina Shobana SrinivasanKimberly Worsham, MPA, MIWMBipin DangolYvonne MagawaFredrick TumusiimePeter VosRich ThorstenHeather ArneyGilbert GumaVedika BhandarkarBrenda Achiro PMPNabasirye Lillian Valentin PostSylvia Giezeman, CFANadia CHRAIBISun KimSanyu Senkatuka LutaloNishtha MehtaPatrick Moriarty
