The World Bank, through the International Development Association, one of its three subsidiaries, has granted Benin $100 million, or 57 billion CFA francs, to efficiently fight floods in Benin, APA learned on Thursday in Cotonou, the nation’s economic hub.
“The Board of Directors of the World Bank has approved a $100-million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Benin’s efforts to reduce the risk of flooding in certain areas of the city of Cotonou, and strengthen the management and municipal capacity for urban resilience,” said a World Bank statement dated May 23, 2019.
According to the financial institution, this support is intended to support the Rainwater Management and Urban Resilience Project, the main objective of which is to improve the living conditions of the
inhabitants of Cotonou by reducing their exposure and their vulnerability to flood risks, and consequent impoverishment.
The project includes the construction of 28.07 km of collectors, 7.27 km of gabion mattresses to protect the banks, and the rehabilitation of three retention ponds for a total storage volume of 431,698 cubic meters.
With the completion of these facilities, Benin hopes to save 168,000 people from the consequences of periodic floods and the spread of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria.
As Katrina Sharkey, the Resident Representative of the World Bank in Benin put it, “Floods are a recurring plague in Cotonou and cause significant damage to the population. This project reinforces the actions already initiated by the World Bank to limit the problems caused by rainwater in this city.”
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