JICA signed Japanese ODA Loan Agreement with Turkey Meeting Growing Water Demands in the Capital, Improving the Living Environment for Residents

• 1. On December 28, 2009 JICA (President: Sadako Ogata), signed an agreement with the government of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, the Capital of Turkey, to provide a Japanese ODA loan for Ankara Water Supply Project for up to 26,826 million yen.
• 2. Ankara Water Supply Project will construct the regulator and related water transmission facilities which are sourced from Gerede river (Gerede river is placed on 100 km northwest from Ankara). This project will respond to increasing demand for water in Ankara and improve the living environment for the residents in Ankara. The loan will be allocated to the construction of the regulator and related water transmission facilities.
• 3. Out of annual rainfall of Turkey, which is 501 billion m³, 112 billion m³ is expected to be used as the water resources in the year 2030, thorough the development of water resources and the construction of the water supply facilities. However, at this moment, 36% water resources, 40.1 billion m³, is being consumed. As the demand for water rapidly increases by the influence of concentration of population and expansion of economic activities, the amount of water consumption has increased twice as much in the last 10 years , and citizens of Ankara have sometimes even experienced large-scale water stoppages. It is expected that the demand of water will continue to increase rapidly, so the water resource development and upgrading the water facilities are regarded as the urgent matter.
• 4. In the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it is mentioned that “to halve the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water”, and in the 5th World Water Forum Heads of State Appeal which was held at Istanbul in 2009, the statement has been announced that “Water resources cannot be managed without appropriate capacity and properly designed and maintained infrastructure. Thus, investment in these areas should be given the highest priority”. This project is consistent with the world wide policy for the water issues. In addition, the relationship between Japan and Turkey is expected to be strengthened further through the implementation of this project at the occasion of the “Japanese year in Turkey” (2010).