WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18, 1997—The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced the signing of an agreement between the government of Senegal and IFC for inviting private sector participation in water services serving metropolitan Dakar.
Currently, Dakar's potable water supply falls substantially short of meeting demand. The government of Senegal, already implementing major structural reforms in the sector, has decided to turn to private sector operators for investing in, and managing, the facilities required to transport bulk water from the Senegal River basin, 240 km north of the capital.
"The unsatisfied demand of water in Dakar can be estimated in the order of 50 liters per person per day, and this deficiency is expected to increase well beyond the year 2000," said Paul Hinchey, Director of IFC's Corporate Finance Services Department. "The introduction of private operators committed to large capital investments over extended periods of time will help satisfy the long-term demand for potable water in Dakar," he added.
IFC will act as lead advisor to the government of Senegal to help structure and promote an optimal method for private sector participation. IFC will assist in assessing the technical options, structuring the transaction, identifying potential investors, marketing the project, organizing and implementing an international call for tenders. Various contractual arrangements will be studied, such as build-operate-transfer, build-transfer, and concession.
This is IFC's third advisory assignment in the water sector. IFC recently completed advisory mandates with the government of Gabon for the privatization of the national water and electricity utility company, Societe d'Energie et d'Eau du Gabon (SEEG), and the government of the Philippines for the privatization of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS). In both transactions, IFC oversaw the selection of private operators through an international competitive bidding process that attracted the interest of worldwide industry leaders.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries. IFC also provides advisory services to government clients covering privatization and private sector corporate restructurings.
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