An assessment essay of the economic cost of achieving the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to drinking water in Algeria
This paper aims to assess the economic cost of achieving the target 7.C of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to discuss constraints and improvements in drinking water delivery services in Algeria. The methodological approach used is based on the analysis of documents, articles, data and information about investment/funding of drinking water sub-sector in Algeria. The data used were provided by the Ministry of Water Resources and Environment and the Algerian Water Company. Our study confirms that the favorable evolution in drinking water indicators is due to massive investment in this sub-sector. In fact, the overall amount authorized during the analyzed period (1999-2012) is valued at US$23.459 billions, of which, only 61.6% were actually spent. The weakness of absorptive capacity is due to many constraints in the execution of the allocated budgets and a lack of an intellectual capital able to face the challenge of MDGs inherent to water and to manage the water resources sustainably. Efforts to meet such challenges have been hampered by many constraints owing to concentration on the water mobilization upstream (supply-side management) without a downstream valorization by a water demand management (WDM). However, Algeria has been able to achieve the targets of the MDGs related to the drinking water services before the UN fixed deadline in 2015, with an economic cost estimated at US$14.515 billions. Indeed, Algeria ensured access to safe drinking water to the majority of the population with a connection rate of 98% in 2015, compared to 78% in 1999. Moreover, it achieved the sanitation facilities target with a connection rate to the sewerage network of 90% in 2015 compared to 73.2% in 2000.