Jakarta (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB)has announced that it will provide 419.6 million USD to help Indonesia improve the sanitation system for about 2.5 millionpeople in the three cities of Mataram, Pontianak, and Semarang.

ADB Country Director in Indonesia Jiro Tominaga said thatthis is part of the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation Project, one of the largestcomprehensive sanitation projects in Indonesia supported by ADB to date, whichis suitable to the bank's initiatives.

While approximately 77% of Indonesian households have accessto basic sanitation facilities, ADB said only 7% have access to safelymanaged sanitation that ensures safe disposal of domestic waste to wastewatertreatment plants (WWTPs) for further processing. With so many households in theproject cities facing inadequate sewerage and being prone to flooding,groundwater pollution and environmental and health risks are frequentoccurrences.

It is designed based on the citywide inclusive sanitationprinciple, which ensures everyone has access to appropriately handledsanitation services by integrating sewered and non-sewered systems.

Tominaga underlined that ADB is pleased to continue workingwith Indonesia to expand access to improved sanitation services, which are keyto a healthy and productive population./.