The official launch of Zanzibar’s $665.5 million water sector investment programme

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous island region of Tanzania. The government of Zanzibar has officially launched a multi-million investment programme to ensure sustainable water supply for its 1.6 million population

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania whose capital is Zanzibar City. It has an estimated population of 1.6 million and a GDP of about $2 billion ($1,000 per capita). Tourism accounts for about 30% and the services sector for about 50% (Government of Zanzibar, World Bank).  

The President of Zanzibar, H.E. Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, launched the Zanzibar Water Investment Programme on 11 March 2022, which will mobilise more than USD 665.5 million in funding over the next six years, between 2022 and 2027, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation on the island by 2030.

According to the Zanzibar Ministry of Water, Energy and Minerals, in the Zanzibar Water Investment Programme document, the objective of this project is also to support the implementation of the Zanzibar Development Vision 2050 to achieve a blue economy for sustainable water use and management.

In Africa, water poverty or scarcity, largely due to climate change, is directly responsible for an estimated $520 million in economic damage since the beginning of this millennium, as estimated by the African Development Bank and 1,000 or more deaths per year. The bank also noted that the water investment gap in Africa is about $49-54 billion per year.

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