Benin: ERANOVE, UDUMA and VERGNET HYDRO are set to deliver a continuous drinking water service to 9.3 million Beninese by 2030

Picture caption: Handshake between Sylvain ADOKPO-MIGAN, General Manager of Benin’s national agency for water supplies in rural locations (ANAEPMR), and Dominique DA CRUZ, General Manager of OMILAYE (leasing company created by ERANOVE, UDUMA and VERGNET HYDRO), concluding the signing session of a leasing contract for a continuous drinking water service for 9.3 million Beninese by 2030 (April 11, 2022, Hotel Novotel, Cotonou, Benin).

By 2023, OMILAYE will deliver its drinking water service to 6.7 million people via 421 drinking water supply networks

The government of Benin (population 12.5 million) has signed a 10-year leasing contract with a consortium comprising ERANOVE (Paris, France), UDUMA and VERGNET HYDRO to provide a continuous drinking water service by 2030 for 9.3 million people in the country’s rural regions. “This public-private partnership renovation of Benin’s rural water sector is the first on a nationwide scale in Africa. This puts into action our ambition to transform this sector and ensure it gets the attention it deserves in the Sustainable Development Goals’ 2030 Agenda. The Benin government has provided us with a way forward and we hope other African countries will soon follow suit,” commented Thierry BARBOTTE, Managing Director of UDUMA and VERGNET HYDRO, enthusiastically.

The government has created a leasing company under private Beninese law to steer the project. Its name, OMILAYE, means “water, source of life” in Yorouba. By 2023, OMILAYE will deliver its drinking water service to 6.7 million people living in the Alibori, Borgou, Collines, Zou, Couffo, Mono, Ouémé and Plateau departments, via 421 drinking water supply networks. “By expanding the service to new areas, adding new production units [22 multi-village drinking water supply systems are planned], and expanding and increasing the density of existing distribution networks, we will reach 100% coverage by 2030. That means 9.3 million people will have access to drinking water thanks to a network of more than 18,450 km of pipes,” explained Christophe LEGER, Deputy Managing Director of VERGNET HYDRO.

A major commitment combining public sector power and private sector professionals

This programme, encouraged by Benin’s national agency for water supplies in rural locations (ANAEPMR), provides a model for the continent of Africa because of its size and critical mass. “The aim of the Republic of Benin Government’s investment programme is to ensure universal access to a quality drinking water service at an affordable price […] by 2030. This challenge calls for a major commitment combining public sector power and private sector professionals. We are delighted to be able to count on the solid experience of leading operators, such as the group comprising ERANOVE, UDUMA and VERGNET HYDRO, to help us meet this challenge long term,” declared Sylvain ADOKPO MIGAN, Managing Director of ANAEPMR.