Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In September 2019, China agreed to provide a specific list of materials and equipment for water management to Cuba for the China-Aided Drought Response and Sewage Improvement Equipment Project. On April 18, 2023, a handover ceremony was held at Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos, INRH) for China's donation of equipment at the Cuban National Water Resources Commission. The intent of the project is to improve Cuba's water management systems, including improving sewage and ditches, cleaning septic tanks, and unclogging sewers, around the country's provincial capitals and communities with more than 300 inhabitants. The donation comes during an extended drought in Cuba. It arrived in Cuba on October 4, 2022, through the port of Mariel. It consisted of 449 pieces of equipment in 33 categories, including 93 pipes for drinking water and 60 high-pressure cleaning trucks, as well as bulldozers, lighting towers, backhoe loaders, motor graders, air compressors, sewage suction trucks, dump trucks, and 90-315 thermofusion welding machines. The monetary value of the equipment is noted as USD 27.8 million. The delay between the commitment date in 2019 and the implementation end date in 2023 is apparently due to COVID.
Staff comments
1. The Chinese name of the project seems to be "中国援助古巴应对干旱与下水系统改善设备." 2. The official funding agency for this project is not explicitly named in any public-facing documentation. However, based on the nature of the transfer—a large in-kind donation of equipment valued at USD 27.8 million for drought response and sewage infrastructure improvement—it is consistent with the type of development assistance managed by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).