Housing delivered, but taps dry, this is the scenario that the National Drinking Water Office (ONEP) and the National Chamber of Approved Developers and Builders (CNPCCI) now want to rule out. Friday September 25, 2026, in the ONEP conference room, Nabintou Cissé, Director General of the Office, and Siriki Sangaré, President of the Chamber, signed a partnership agreement. Several directors and managers of the two structures attended the ceremony. The agreement comes in a context marked by difficulties in accessing drinking water in certain real estate programs, in Abidjan and within the country. The aim is to avoid the water issue being dealt with only after the housing has been completed.

According to the General Director, this agreement will allow real estate stakeholders and ONEP to collaborate to plan the supply and demand of drinking water for current and future development and construction sites. The text provides for three main axes, namely the provision by ONEP of expertise in hydraulic engineering, the joint planning of supply and demand for drinking water as well as the strengthening and renewal of drinking water supply infrastructure. For developers, it is about integrating water from the design stage of projects. ONEP, for its part, will gain visibility on the needs linked to urbanization and the extension of residential areas.This approach is part of the mission of the Office, a state company responsible for assisting the State and communities to guarantee sustainable access to drinking water.

By making water a prerequisite and no longer a corrective, ONEP and CNPCCI establish a framework for sustainable consultation. It remains to verify its application in the field.