World Bank Approves US$20 Million Central Asia Water Project

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The World Bank Group's Board of Executive Directors has approved a project to strengthen transboundary cooperation on water resource management in Central Asia. A US$20 million grant will be provided to the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) to implement the initiative. Around 40 million people across the region are expected to benefit directly or indirectly from the project.

The Central Asia Water and Energy Cooperation (CAWEC) project aims to strengthen regional cooperation, prepare new investment initiatives and improve mechanisms for the joint management of transboundary water resources.

According to the World Bank, Central Asian countries face several systemic challenges, including ageing water infrastructure, limited institutional capacity in the water and energy sectors, and insufficient data sharing among countries in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins.

Climate change is placing additional pressure on the region's water sector. Over the past 60 years, the area covered by glaciers in Central Asia has declined by around 30%, affecting water availability. The World Bank estimates that insufficient coordination among national water management systems results in annual economic losses exceeding US$4.5 billion.

Tatiana Proskuryakova, the World Bank's Regional Director for Central Asia, said sustainable management of shared water resources would be one of the key drivers of economic growth and job creation in the region over the medium and long term. She said the new project would help Central Asian countries intensify joint efforts to address shared water challenges and strengthen regional cooperation.

The project will be coordinated by the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in close cooperation with the fund's member states.

By 2031, the project is expected to prepare up to six cross-border infrastructure projects involving two or more Central Asian countries. These projects will focus on modernising irrigation systems, improving water conservation and storage, and strengthening the joint management of water infrastructure.

The project also includes the digitalisation of water accounting systems and the modernisation of information systems in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins. In addition, up to 100 specialists from regional water management organisations will receive training, while activities to strengthen professional capacity, promote knowledge exchange and support joint research among countries in the region will also be carried out.