China´s announcement that it would double aid to Africa by 2009 has drawn attention to emerging donors such as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and new member countries of the European Union (EU). The Chinese aid package was presented at the November 2006 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and includes US$ 5 billion (EUR 3.8 billion) in loans and credits, US$ 5 billion for a China-Africa development fund, debt cancellation, the training of 15,000 Africans, sending 300 youth workers to Africa, building 100 schools, and increasing scholarships for Africans.

While China’s interest in the water sector is mainly in water conservancy (dam construction), in 2005 it provided a grant for a water supply project in Nigeria to drill 598 boreholes in the capital Abuja and 18 states.

A more recent example from another BRIC country, Brazil, involves a US$ 436 million (EUR 328 million) loan provided by the Brazilian Social and Economic National Development Bank (BNDES) for the “Infrastructures of Benguela” project in Angola. The 9-year project starting in 2007, implemented by Brazilian construction company Odebrecht will provide wastewater treatment, stormwater drainage, public lighting and roads for the main towns in the coastal province of Benguela. Since 2004 Odebrecht has been involved in the “Emergency Stage of the Waters of Benguela Program” which started providing clean water to the province’s four main cities.

For more on emerging donors see:

• ODI - Diversity in donorship
• Manning, R. (2006). Will emerging donors change the face of international co-operation?" Development policy review ; vol. 24, no. 4 ; p. 371-385. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7679.2006.00330.x. Also available on the OECD web site.

Related news: South-south co-operation: recent examples from the water sector, Source Weekly, 25 Jul 2006

Source: IRIN, 22 Nov 2006 ; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China, 19 Oct 2005 , Angola Press Agency – allAfrica.com, 22 Nov 2006 ; João U.G. Sant’Anna, Odebrecht Informa Online, no. 126, Sep-Oct 2006

Tags: policies & legislation