Call to action to bring investment and the private sector in Central Asia
AquaFed worked in partnership with the World Bank to lead calls for the opening of markets and investment in water and wastewater services in Central Asia this week.
The call for action came during the Private Sector Forum, organised by AquaFed, World Bank and the Tajikistan Government, at the Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference.
The forum was a dialogue between the private sector, development banks (also including the IFC, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and representatives from the government of Tajikistan and neighbouring countries.
The clear messages from AquaFed and the development banks were:
• Commitment: The finance, technical expertise and technical assistance are all ready. We just need the green light from governments.
• Trust: We need to build trust with governments and people in the region and this starts with small steps.
• Stability: A predictable and stable political and regulatory framework is essential for investment - and the Central Asian region is relatively stable.
• Reform: Tariff reform is one of the biggest priorities and it is very difficult politically- but it is possible and has been done recently in the region.
• Capacity Building: Another very clear building block for greater investment is building skills and capacity and national and local level. In particular, public officials need support in negotiating and managing contracts with private companies.
• Opportunity: There are so many opportunities to make the improvements to water and sanitation services and water resource management that are so urgently needed in the Central Asia region.
AquaFed is now hoping to create a Central Asia Business Forum for water, to help create the conditions in the region which will lead to a pipeline of water and wastewater projects.
AquaFed was also involved in the ‘Interactive Dialogue’ event about water and health, led by the UK and Dominican Republic governments. Mark Muller, Aquafed Vice-President, explained the role of private operators in delivering crucial water and wastewater services and focused on the essential need for digital solutions to improve utility performance.
At a meeting with representatives of the Azerbaijan government (hosts of this year’s COP29), Mr Muller said that operators will go to that event to show best practice on many solutions, including water reuse, energy efficiency and climate-related disaster risk management.
