Senegal to build 300 water infrastructure projects for rural areas by 2027

The government of Senegal plans to construct 180 boreholes and 120 water towers by the end of 2027 to improve drinking water access in rural areas.

Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, the minister of Sanitation and Hydraulics, announced the plan during an information mission in Louga. These construction projects will run as part of an emergency program and a second phase of a broader initiative to provide drinking water to rural populations.

The minister also discussed a decade-long reform that transfers the management of rural water infrastructure to private operators called farmers. Serigne Mbacké Dieng, the director general of the Office des forages ruraux (OFOR), stated that nearly two thirds of the boreholes in eight regions that adopted this system are now managed by these private operators. While local mayors noted some improvements in infrastructure management, they asked for more involvement from the state and local authorities in future contracts.

The OFOR director noted that many existing rural water structures are outdated and have exceeded their service life. However, he reported that the availability rate of the Dolly reserve boreholes, managed by the Société sénégalaise des eaux rurales (SDER), exceeds 96 percent. To address ongoing issues with water salinity in regions like Louga, Thiès, and Diourbel, the government is planning water transfer projects. These include the Grand transfert d'eau (GTE), which aims to improve water supply for 58 rural communes.