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Water Operators Partnership Program
Twinning of Water Utilities

The Water Operators Partnership (WOPs) program works to enable water utilities to improve service coverage and delivery, financial sustainability, and other aspects of their performance.

One of the WOPs program’s strategies is establishing twinning arrangements between water utilities.

MORE ABOUT WOP

TWINNING OF WATER UTILITIES

Exemplary water utilities in the region are being tapped to help developing utilities enhance their skills and operational efficiency. Whereas most twinning arrangements pair off entities with similar characteristics on the assumption that they will share similar problems and solutions, WOP’s approach is to match a stronger water and sanitation utility (expert) with a developing utility (recipient). The aim is to enable the latter to improve service coverage and delivery, financial sustainability, and other aspects of its performance.

There is no commercial motive in WOPs’ twinning; it is essentially a case of one utility helping another out. Activities under this program include a diagnostic study of the recipient twin by the expert twin and ADB, exchange visits, and on-site demonstrations.

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ESTABLISHED TWINNING ARRANGEMENTS

Under RETA 6396, ADB proposes to support 10 twins. To date, the following twinning arrangements are operational:

Recipient Twin	Expert Twin
From SEAWUN

Davao City Water District (Philippines)	Ranhill Utilities BHD (Malaysia)
Da Nang Water Supply Company (Viet Nam)	Hai Phong One Member Co. Ltd. (Viet Nam)
Metro Cebu Water District (Philippines)	City West Water (Australia)
Binh Duong Water Supply and Sewerage Co. (Viet Nam)	Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (Cambodia)

From SAWUN

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Bangladesh)	K-Water Research Corporation (Korea)
Thimphu Municipal Corporation (Bhutan)	Male Water and Sewerage Company Pvt. Ltd. (Maldives)
National Water Supply and Drainage Board (Sri Lanka)	Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited (India)
Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (Pakistan)	Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd. (Malaysia)

All expert twins have completed their diagnostic evaluation of the recipient twins to determine the latter’s requirements and immediate areas of concern. Some of the recipient twins, on the other hand, have visited their partner’s locations to observe their operations. Both parties have agreed on a work program designed to raise specific performance levels of the recipient twins, and these work programs are now in varying stages of implementation.

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ADB’S APPROACH TO TWINNING

ADB’s approach to twinning covers the following steps

Identify “experts”
Identify expertise offered
Canvas recipients and their needs
Seek compatibility in size, culture, and language
Observe experts and recipient candidates in workshop conditions
Offer possible candidates to the “expert” before approaching the recipient
Once a recipient twin agrees, conduct onsite brief diagnostic study by “expert” and ADB facilitators
Agree on priorities with recipient twin and expert, based on the diagnostic study
Use the diagnostics to test the “chemistry” of the twinning relationship
Conclude diagnostic with a signed agreement, including work plan, committed resources, and ADB budget support

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Water

Water Operators Partnership ProgramTwinning of Water Utilities

Water Operators Partnership Program
Twinning of Water Utilities