The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a USD15-million grant to help
improve urban infrastructure and services in the mining and border towns in Southeast Gobi. The grant will directly benefit about
100,000 people in six towns of Omnogovi and Dornogovi provinces, where around
31% of the people are below the poverty level now. Both provinces are poised
for rapid economic growth following expansion of mining and cross-border trade.

The population in urban centers is projected
to more than double by 2020. “The provision of urban infrastructure and
services is currently poor. Many basic services are either inadequate or
absent. Insufficient and unreliable urban services add to business and
household costs, damage the urban environment, and diminish quality of
life,” the ADB has said in a statement announcing the grant. Maximizing
the benefits for the residents of Southeast Gobi
will depend on effective urban planning, management, and service delivery
policies and structures being in place.

The project has two parts. The first will fund consultations to make way for
infrastructure services reforms, institutional development, and capacity
building to strengthen urban planning and policy making, regional cooperation,
and project management and project performance monitoring. The second will fund
needed infrastructure improvements such as developing water sources,
transmission, storage, and distribution facilities, increasing connections to
piped water supply and reducing system leakages. Funding will also be provided
to increase waste water collection, boost waste water treatment capacity, and
enhance other sanitation services.

The total cost of the project is USD21.9 million, with Mongolia providing USD6.8 million
and local governments contributing USD100,000 to complement the ADB grant.