2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

NIGER PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Niger
In 2001, the World Bank lent Niger US$18.6 million as part of its Poverty Reduction and Growth
Facility (PRGF) to commercialise various utility activities. This includes the privatisation of the national
water company, SNE into SPEN a state held asset owning company and SEEN, the leasing company.
There are approximately 60,000 household connections in urban areas. SEEN covers 50 towns and
Niamey, the capital.
Currently, 57% of the population has access to safe water, with formal water and sewerage provision
in urban areas officially covering 70% and 79% of the population respectively. However, there is no
formal urban sewerage network and most water provision is at the street pump level, with concerns
about its potability.
Water and sanitation coverage (million people)
Population Coverage Water %
covered
Coverage Sanitation
% covered
1990
Rural 6.5 3.3 51% 0.3 62%
Urban 1.2 0.8 65% 0.9 95%
Total 7.7 4.1 53% 1.1 70%
2004
Rural 9.7 4.6 50% 0.4 5%
Urban 2.1 1.5 70% 1.7 79%
Total 11.8 6.1 57% 2.2 20%
Approximately 5% of wastewater is collected and treated.
From 2004, 50 small town water supply schemes are to be rehabilitated and local private operators
will take over their maintenance by 2005. Twenty-eight private operators and 50 Water Users
Associations have been trained so far.
In January 2001, Veolia Environnement (VE) was awarded a 10 year renewable lease contract for
water services to Niger. VE has 51% of the equity and will spend €5.5 million in service extension and
installing water fountains while the World Bank is leading a group of backers for a €35 million
infrastructure rehabilitation programme. The first aim is to increase the number of connections from
58,000 over the next five years. Niamey (0.6 million people) is the initial target area, with other
addressable markets to be covered later.
Private sector contracts awarded (Please see the relevant company entry for details)
Location Contract Company
Major Cities 10 year renewable lease VE
In Niamey, 189,000 people are served through household water connections, 162,000 through public
standpipes and 202,000 via water vendors. There is no piped sewerage, 28,000 being served via
septic tanks and 482,000 via latrines. The average charge for household water connections is US$1.4
per month. Water vending and sanitation are carried out on an informal basis.
Private sector company operations (Please see the relevant company entry for details)
Company Parent company Population served
(country) Water Sewerage Total
VE VE (France) 600,000 0 600,000
Sources:
International Secretariat for Water (2005) Blue Book, Niger, ISW, Montréal, Canada
151 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006