Ulaanbaatar city, June 29, 2023 - Within the framework of the Water Supply Project funded by the Mongolia Water Compact of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Public Awareness and Behavior Change Sub-Activity is one of the planned interventions. In compliance with the MCC's procurement process rules and regulations, the Asia Foundation was selected to develop the design of this sub-activity and the contract for "The Consulting Service for Design Development of Social Behavior Change Interventions for Mongolia Water Compact" was signed on June 9, 2023. The Kick-off meeting was conducted on June 30, 2023, at the Puma Imperial hotel, to kick-start the consultancy services.
In the meeting, representatives from MCUD, Municipality of Ulaanbaatar, General Manager’s Office, Water Services Regulatory Commission, Water Authority, Tuul River Basin Administration, and the experts from USUG, OSNAAUG, and Private kontors(Apartment service and maintenance bureau), where the project will be implemented, and correspondent management and specialists of the MCA of Mongolia, and MCC as the client of the project, and correspondent management and specialists of the Asia Foundation or contractor, participated. The Kick-off meeting was welcomed by E. Enkhgerel, Chief Executive Officer of the MCA-Mongolia, Tina Yu, Resident Country Director of the MCC, and Mark Koenig, Country Representative of the Asia Foundation.
The Consultant will develop the design of the Mongolia Water Compact's Social Behavior Change Interventions to improve public awareness and understanding of the value of water resources and the actual costs of water services, facilitating the acceptance of the cost-reflective tariffs of water services and timely payment of water bills for the duration of 6 months. During the kick-off meeting, the consulting service team presented the research methodology and detailed work plan to be used in the design development project, and obtained feedback recommendations from stakeholders.
In the upcoming months, the consulting team will conduct a gap analysis, develop the design, incorporate the feedback and recommendations from the stakeholders into the final design, and define the scope of the terms of the references for the interventions, and handing it over to the client.
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About the MCC-Mongolia Water Compact
This $462 million project is a partnership between the American and Mongolian people made possible by $350m in MCC grant funding and the $111.76m contribution from the Government of Mongolia which demonstrates their commitment to working together to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction in Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolia Water Compact is funding major infrastructure projects, including the construction of new wellfields and two large plants - an Advanced Water Purification Plant and Water Recycling Plant which will be the first of their kind in Mongolia. In addition, the Compact will invest in policy measures to create a financially and environmentally sustainable future for the water sector of Ulaanbaatar. As a result, the water system in Ulaanbaatar will have been expanded to deliver 80% more drinking water, allowing for the city’s future expansion.