Source: The Asian Development Bank   Date: April 29, 2010

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a USD15 million grant to help improve urban infrastructure and services in the mining and border towns in Southeast Gobi. The grant will directly benefit about 100,000 people in six towns of Omnogovi and Dornogovi provinces, where around 31% of the people are below the poverty level now. Both provinces are poised for rapid economic growth following expansion of mining and cross-border trade.
The population in urban centers is projected to more than double by 2020. "The provision of urban infrastructure and services is currently poor. Many basic services are either inadequate or absent. Insufficient and unreliable urban services add to business and household costs, damage the urban environment, and diminish quality of life," the ADB has said in a statement announcing the grant. Maximizing the benefits for the residents of Southeast Gobi will depend on effective urban planning, management, and service delivery policies and structures being in place.

The project has two parts. The first will fund consultations to make way for infrastructure services reforms, institutional development, and capacity building to strengthen urban planning and policy making, regional cooperation, and project management and project performance monitoring. The second will fund needed infrastructure improvements such as developing water sources, transmission, storage, and distribution facilities, increasing connections to piped water supply and reducing system leakages. Funding will also be provided to increase waste water collection, boost waste water treatment capacity, and enhance other sanitation services.

The total cost of the project is USD21.9 million, with Mongolia providing USD6.8 million and local governments contributing USD100,000 to complement the ADB grant.