| Project Detail |
PDO
27. The Project Development Objectives are to improve irrigation service delivery, strengthen flood
risk management and improve climate change resilience in the Project area.
28. Improving irrigation services includes management reforms as pursued under Component A,
and infrastructure modernization to reinforce the management improvements under Component B.
Strengthening flood risk management is addressed under Component C. These improvements together
will help improve the resilience of the Project area to climate change.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
31. To address unsustainable groundwater use in the Project area, the Project aims to improve
irrigation service delivery in the DVCA by (i) introducing improvements in irrigation management and
reforming institutions, and (ii) investing in canal modernization.
32. Declining groundwater levels are the result of increasing withdrawals that in turn are the
result of (i) infrastructure degradation and (ii) inadequate management of surface water supplies.
Addressing these key challenges and improving the performance of the DVCA scheme requires
investments in canal modernization to improve the efficiency and the conveyance capacity to ensure
that the canal system is capable of delivering the required supplies and the hydraulic infrastructure
supports improved quality of service delivery. This will include, in a number of pilot areas, installing
subsurface pressurized pipe micro-irrigation systems.
33. Addressing the challenges also requires improving the management of surface water supplies
to ensure that IWD has the capacities and incentives to deliver reliable irrigation services. The Project
will improve the quality of irrigation service delivery through the introduction of performance-based management and benchmarking, and recruitment on a contractual basis of ISPs that will become
responsible for the management of distributary canals. |
