Tariff study for drinking water supply in urban areas in Benin

The Government of Benin wishes to ensure access to drinking water for all throughout the country by 2024, a much more ambitious deadline than that of the SDGs, which sets it for 2030. To achieve this, a very ambitious investment program, estimated at around FCFA 440 billion in urban areas, has already been launched. In facing this challenge, the financial balance of SONEB, the public water operator in urban and peri-urban areas, is a major issue to ensure (i) that the infrastructures are properly operated, maintained, renewed and (ii) that the sector can contribute to the investment effort.

Phœnix is entrusted by the SONEB with the tariffs study for water services in urban areas. Our team went to Benin in July 2021 to launch the first investigations of this study which should propose a tariff schedule for 2024. This should enable the water company to be provided with the resources necessary for its proper functioning and to respect its financial commitments (in particular the repayment of its debt service) but also to offer a reasonable cost of service to the most deprived populations.

To better understand the daily realities of these populations, Phœnix led focus groups in Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Abomey with heads of households subscribing and not subscribing to the water service.