Ten leading development banks put $19.6 billion into water projects around the world this year, with almost three-quarters of the money going to countries that need it most. The details come from a new Joint Annual MDB Water Security Financing Report, released during the big development finance conference in Seville, Spain, according to a press release.
This push follows a major pledge the banks made in late 2024 to step up investment in water between now and 2030. Banks like the World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB), African Development Bank, and Asian Development Bank (ADB) say they’re working closer than ever, pooling their expertise and resources to get more clean water flowing where it’s needed.
The EIB alone provided more than a quarter of this year’s funding and has big plans to go further. Its Water Resilience Programme aims to boost water lending by half over the next three years, which could help unlock even more money for water projects worldwide.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said the real solution is about more than cash.
“We need partnerships—mixing investment, technical help, and real-world know-how,” he explained. “That’s why we’re joining forces to make a bigger impact.”
These partnerships are already making a difference. One project teams up several banks to build new flood defenses in Cotonou, Benin. In Mongolia, the EIB and Asian Development Bank are upgrading wastewater treatment and drainage systems. And in Cyprus, the EIB and Council of Europe Development Bank keep working together on better water and sewer networks across the country’s main towns.
