The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) launched a US$33.6 million (Rwf18.5 billion) Institutional Strengthening Project (ISP) on Wednesday, in Entebbe, Uganda.

According to a statement from the organisation’s headquarters, the project was officially launched by the Chairperson of the Nile Technical Advisory Committee (Nile-TAC), also the Director of Water Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Mawalala.

The ISP is a three year project that provides member states with the opportunity to consolidate gains made by NBI as well as strengthen the capacity of the organisation’s investment programmes.

"The project will enable NBI design ways and means to ensure sustainability, in addition to operating at the level of a World Class trans-boundary River Basin Organisation,” the statement reads in part.

At the launch of this project, Mawalala also took the opportunity to inaugurate Nile-TAC as the Project Steering Committee for the ISP, in accordance with the grant agreement that was signed in October last year, between NBI and the World Bank.

According to the statement, Mawalala affirmed that Nile-TAC members are committed to increase their engagement and oversight in NBI activities.

The Programme Manager of the Nile Programme under the World Bank, Dr. Barbara Miller also pointed out the need to emphasise regional interests as opposed to national interests, stressing that 300 million people who live in the Nile Basin region depend on the outcome of the project.

NBI is a partnership of the Nile Basin Countries; Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilization of and the benefits from the common Nile Basin water resources.

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