Integrated Urban Resilience Sector Project The project is aligned with the following impacts: (i) living standards in Nuku'alofa improved , and (ii) resilience to existing extreme natural events and to the threat of climate change increased. The project will have the following outcome: Nuku'alofa residents have access to improved, effective and climate resilient urban services and infrastructure.

Outputs

Output 1: Effective flood risk management infrastructure implemented. To reduce flood risk, the project will rehabilitate and provide new flood management and drainage infrastructure at seven flood prone locations throughout Nuku'alofa, including the central business district, Vuna road, Salote road, Fanga, Haveluloto, Tofoa and Sopu. The project will also assist the Ministry of Infrastructure (MOI) to review the current Land transport Division (LTD) funding arrangements and to prepare and implement a review of tariff structures and charges to achieve and maintain full recovery of operations and maintenance costs for public flood management and drainage infrastructure. The project will also assist the LTD to prepare a 10-year asset management plan and will provide capacity building support to operate, repair and maintain the new drainage network, strengthen revenue collection and asset management.

Output 2: Water supply service in Nuku'alofa improved. The project will reduce NRW through the rehabilitation and upgrading of Nuku'aola piped water distribution network and by improving TWB leak detection, monitoring, repair and maintenance capabilities. The project will also improve TWB service capacities by providing new field-testing equipment and vehicles, assisting the utilities board's integration of financial systems and providing capacity building to use numeric water supply models and field data to guide the planning and implementation of pipe distribution network upgrades. The project will also carry out a gender sensitive review the current TWB tariff structures and charges to achieve and maintain full recovery of operations and maintenance costs while ensuring that water supply is affordable and accessible to the poorest members of the community, and will assist TWB to a prepare a 10-year asset management plan and to develop policies and processes to support women in the workplace.

Output 3: Public and environmental health enhanced. The project will enhance septage and solid waste management and collection in Tongatapu by upgrading the Tapuhia septage and leachate wastewater treatment plant, constructing a new sanitary landfill cell, providing a new office and a mechanical servicing facility at Tapuhia sanitary landfill, and by procuring essential plant and equipment for waste operations, including waste collection trucks that will allow women to work as female waste collectors for the first time ever. The project will assist WAL to improve its financial management capacity and will review the current WAL tariff structures and charges to achieve and maintain full recovery of operations and maintenance costs while ensuring that waste services are affordable and accessible to the poorest members of the community. Considering WAL mandate to expand its operations to the outer islands, the project will assist WAL to explore possible economically and environmentally sustainable solutions for waste management in the outer islands, including the shipping of waste to Tapuhia. The project will also assist WAL to a prepare a 10-year asset management plan and to develop policies and processes to support women in the workplace. Additionally, the project will support the government in the delivery of a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and menstrual hygiene public awareness program in schools, health centers and public buildings.

Output 4: Urban resilience strengthened. In order to address long term resilience and sea level rise, the project will prepare a gender sensitive Climate and Disaster Resilient Urban Development Strategy and Investment Plan for Greater Nuku'alofa area to guide further government urban planning and investments. At the community level, the project will implement a pilot gender sensitive community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) program which will involve Nuku'alofa communities, including women and girls, in the preparation of disaster risk management plans.