IDB water programs in Honduras did not meet goals

An Inter-American Development Bank 2011-14 water and sanitation program in Honduras has failed to fully achieve its goals, the institution said in a report.

"The bank's program in this sector has obtained some partial results but not all the goals have been achieved nor have the institutional problems affecting the sector's effectiveness and sustainability been resolved," the report said.

The IDB attempted to carry out two programs during the period: a US$30mn urban water and sanitation project, which also sought to decentralize services and improve institutional capacity; and a US$25mn project to improve rural water and sanitation services with the Spanish fund for water and sanitation cooperation in LatAm and the Caribbean (Fecasalc).

Under the first program, 62.3% of funds have been disbursed, while 29% of funds under the second program have been spent.

Under both projects, 60.1% of the sewer systems planned have been installed and service fell short of the 11.9 hour/day goal, the report said.

Neither program has managed to secure sufficient collections to cover consumption expenses.

Slow bureaucratic processes, the limited technical capacity of water authority Sanaa and water regulator Ersaps, as well as poor coordination between local authorities, high turnover and the politicization of the sector's institutions were the main causes for failure to meet program goals, the report concluded.

Editor's note: This story was corrected on November 5 as the original version mistakenly stated that the bank involved was the World Bank and not the IDB.