IDB Invest provides $124m to Aguas de Manaus for clean water and sanitation in Amazonas, Brazil

IDB Invest provided up to R$750 million Brazilian reais (approximately $124 million) in financing to Aguas de Manaus for the construction, operation and maintenance of water distribution, sewage collection and treatment services in the city of Manaus in the Amazonas state of Brazil.

The project is expected to expand sewage collection and treatment access to an average of 31,000 new connections per year and maintain universal access to water by adding an average of 7,000 new connections per year to attend to population growth, including vulnerable populations. The project currently benefits 2.1 million people in Manaus.

To date, Aguas de Manaus has implemented multiple programs to make these services accessible to different communities, such as the project in the Beco Nonato neighborhood to ensure that stilt houses are connected to the wastewater collector network, allowing all the effluents from these vulnerable communities be treated in a wastewater treatment plant.

Additionally, “Vem com a Gente” and “+Águas” programs have increased the speed of adherence of the population to the water network, reducing delinquency rates and irregularities, and creating a connection with consumers. Since 2018, the number of families benefited increased from 20,000 to 120,000.

The deal is aligned with IDB Invest’s commitment to improving people’s quality of life, while addressing the crosscutting issues of climate change and social inequality through improved wastewater services.

The project is expected to contribute to the following U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9).