Reforming Sanitation in Armenia
Towards a National Strategy
This report assesses the state of Armenia’s sanitation services, which are in poor
shape, and proposes ways forward for reforming the sector by: ensuring equitable access
by all and identifying solutions that work for the poorest and most remote communities;
generating economies of scale and scope, and reducing both investment and operational
costs for the efficient delivery of sanitation services; and moving towards sustainable
cost recovery for the sanitation sector, by identifying how much funding can be mobilised
from within the sector and how much external transfers are required. The state of
Armenia’s sanitation services are inadequate, with 51% of the population in rural
areas using unimproved facilities, causing direct damage to the environment and exposing
inhabitants to health risks, and better access but degraded sewerage-system infrastructure
in urban areas, posing health hazards due to potential cross-contamination between
sewage and drinking water. According to preliminary estimates, EUR 2.6 billion of
investments will be required to meet Armenia’s sanitation needs, with approximately
EUR 1 billion needing to be spent in the next 7 to 10 years. Given the country’s current
economic situation, this investment will have to be spread over time and targeted
to avoid further deterioration of infrastructure and increase of the financing gap.
Published on September 29, 2017
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