Azerbaijan: Water Supply & Sanitation in Secondary Towns

Abstract

In the preparation towards an investment programme for Azerbaijan’s municipal water supply & sanitation (WS&S), a Sector Analysis and an Action Plan were prepared for the period 2003 to 2012. The Report is developed from basic data from Azebaijan’s 52 medium sized towns, from reconnaissance level surveys in 13 of them that were prioritised and from a detailed feasibility level study at three of them; Goychay, Agdash and Nakhchivan. A high proportion of the population resident in these medium sized towns is fully reliant on municipal services, which in 2003 were significantly unable to provide even the basic level of water supply, causing extreme hardship and reinforcing poverty conditions.

The Sector Analysis carried out to address the water supply & sanitation conditions included a study of the legislative and the institutional framework, the structures of the institutions and in particular the SuKanals (water supply agencies) weaknesses, the technical state of the WS&S infrastructures, the level of services provided, the financial performance and the social dimensions prevailing. Based on the data from the 13 Towns that were prioritised, alternate sector strategies were analysed.

The assessment of the alternate strategies that might be adopted was carried out in a spreadsheet based model that used eight sets of indicators, consisting of 28 financial and technical parameters and a year by year analysis for the period 2003 through to 2012, providing a ten year outlook for the Sector. The modeled 13 Towns include 35% of the national population, and had an original installed capacity of 78.8 M m3/an, of which only 24.1M m3/an was operational in 2002. The estimated original value of the WS&S assets was estimated at $ 123 million, which by 2002 had depreciated to an asset value of $22.7 million (at 2003 prices).

The alternate scenarios tested for formulating a future strategy included ‘business-as-usual’ which indicated that by 2012 with no change, the annual cumulative financial shortfall would be $ 18 million, leading to bankruptcy of the SuKanals and unacceptable conditions for the populations. A series of investment strategies were tested in the model. At the top extreme a ‘ten year fast track, capital intensive’ strategy would give rapid and good results, but could be unaffordable, Progressively testing for more affordable strategies indicated that a ‘ten year modest investment but rapid implementation’ strategy would also lead to good outcomes with reliable supply at an affordable cost. The three Towns selected for the Feasibility Study would be the pilots for the long term implementation of this strategy. An Action Plan emanating from the proposed strategy was also developed and is described in the Report.

Keywords: Azerbaijan Medium Size towns, water supply & sanitation, rehabilitation of infrastructure, sector analysis, sector strategy, alternative scenarios, business-as-usual analysis