"Cityscapes 2002" Global Convention on Agenda for Urban Infrastructure Reforms
October 21-22, 2002, New Delhi

Speech by Ms Jocelyne Guertin

For decades, infrastructure development was not a concern in developed countries. It is still not a great concern though the financial situation of our governments has changed and new investments are harder to come by. What is stopping infrastructure development is a greater concern for sustainable development, which sometimes translates into restricted development.

The main issue that we face at the moment is the maintenance and replacement of our existing infrastructures. With a life span of approximately 40 to 50 years, most of what was installed in the 1960's during our most important period of demographic growth, is now failing, some systems dating more than 100 years are also in desparate need of a change.

It is estimated, for Quebec alone, that 40% of all water, after being treated, is being lost in the water distribution systems. We need close to 20 billion dollars over the next 15 years in order to put our water and sewer systems back to an acceptable operating condition. For Canada, it is an investment that could reach 50 to 60 billion dollars, which is a significant amount. It is a very unpopular public decision to make, as it means that other services such as health services and education will not receive as much funding.

Through the world, millions of people still don't have the bare necessities. With no clean water for miles and unsanitary conditions all over, we still get reports that estimate that three quarters of diseases worldwide is caused by the lack of safe water, sanitation and poor hygiene. Some initiatives, such as the <<WASH>> program provide some relief, but it has not received much attention as hoped. Less than 5% of all foreign aid is allocated to clean water. This may not be sufficient to improve the conditions faced by so many and does not seem to reflect the need for more action.

For developing countries, less than 1% of their budgets can be placed on water systems. And often more expensive solutions have to be chosen. If that means that these systems can be less expensive in the long run, than drawing from our actual experience, I think there might be some merit to this approach. Of course, more has to be done for those communities that still do not have basic services. From the 10 to 25 billion US$ currently invested with regards to clean water in countries that are subject to the Millenium Development Goal, it is estimated that the amounts needed are close to the 19 to 34 billion US$ range. So there still are a lot of efforts to put in this situation and we will monitor closely the situation.

Thank you.