Sanitation and Rainwater Drainage Project in Al Khalidiya

Institutional Component

• Benchmarking & Capacity Assessment: Documenting and reviewing current operational practices and sanitation performance across the Anbar, Babylon, and Karbala governorates; assessing the institutional strengths and weaknesses of the Directorate of Sewerage (DoS) in preparation for operating the new infrastructure

• Capacity Building & Training: Delivering targeted training for DoS staff in GIS software, preventive maintenance, and sanitation system monitoring and reporting; conducting training for Project Management Team (PMT) staff in procurement and monitoring of DB contract (FIDIC Yellow Book or equivalent), covering contractual, financial, and ESHS-aspects

• Social Outreach: Implementing a social engagement programme to strengthen community understanding, acceptance, and active participation in the project among both beneficiary and non-beneficiary populations, ensuring long-term sustainability

Technical Component

• Inception & Data Collection: Reviewing current local wastewater management practices; collecting and consolidating boundary data for the project area

• Wastewater Monitoring: Collecting field data on wastewater flow rates and composition through laboratory sample testing to inform design

• Conceptual Design & Tender Documents: Consolidating selected scenarios for wastewater collection and rainwater drainage; preparing conceptual designs at a level of detail sufficient for CAPEX and OPEX estimation; developing work packages and tender documentation based on the DB approach (FIDIC Yellow Book)

• Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA): Updating the ESIA in line with AFD standards and local regulatory requirements

• Tendering Support: Providing technical assistance to the PMT throughout the tendering process for construction works

• Construction Supervision: Supervising construction works and monitoring contractor performance throughout the Defects Notification Period (DNP)

Impact

• Universal sanitation access: Upon completion, the project will deliver the city of Al Khalidiya's first-ever formal sanitation infrastructure, providing safe wastewater collection and treatment services to a projected population of 113,000 by 2042.

• Environmental protection: Ending the direct discharge of untreated wastewater and rainwater into the Euphrates River and the Al Theban channel, substantially reducing water pollution and associated ecological risks in a strategically important river basin.

• Institutional strengthening: Structured capacity-building for the Directorate of Sewerage will equip the operator to manage, maintain, and monitor the new systems independently, ensuring long-term operational sustainability beyond project completion.

• Climate and public health resilience: Improved rainwater drainage infrastructure will reduce urban flooding risk and the associated health and economic burdens, strengthening the city's resilience to increasingly volatile rainfall patterns in the region.