New master plan for drinking water supply in Dakar-Thiès-Petite Côte

In 2023, the National Water Company of Senegal (SONES) decided to update its Master Plan for drinking water supply in the Dakar-Thiès-Petite Côte region, originally developed in 2016.

Senegal is experiencing significant population growth (an average of 2.7% per year over the last 10 years) and rapid, continuous urbanization (50% of the population now lives in urban areas, compared to 36% in 1980). Combined with changing consumption habits, the demand for drinking water is increasing rapidly.

The new Master Plan, developed by Cabinet Merlin in collaboration with Phoenix, proposes a way to address these challenges.

It includes the construction of nearly 900,000 additional residential connections by 2047, as well as the gradual reduction of existing production units – particularly to reduce the exploitation of groundwater. This reduction will be more than offset by the commissioning of several large boreholes, two additional desalination plants, and a water intake from the Senegal River, ensuring sufficient production for decades to come.

Phoenix has assessed the economic and financial viability of the updated Master Plan.

We developed a prospective simulation model of the project’s self-financing capacity under several scenarios (particularly within the framework of different financing modalities for the investment program) and the projected benefits for various stakeholders – especially the users themselves. These benefits take into account the difference in water tariffs for users, the tax revenue for the State linked to the increased volume of water sold, and the public health gains generated by the availability of better-quality drinking water.

Beyond the financial aspect, it was in light of these benefits that the relevance of the Master Plan was assessed, in order to help SONES guide its future investment decisions and tariff adjustments.