NAIROBI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to set aside some 50 billion Kenyan shillings (about 491 million U.S. dollars) in the 2019/2020 fiscal year to boost water coverage, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Simon Chelugui, cabinet secretary of the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, told journalists in Nairobi that currently 60 percent of the population has access to clean water but government hopes to increase the figure to 80 percent by the end of 2020.

"However, the country requires 982 million dollars annually to achieve universal water coverage in the next five years," Chelugui said during a workshop on regional training program on integrated groundwater resources management within river basins.

Chelugui said that Kenya has approached World Bank as well as bilateral donors to bridge the funding gap in the country's water sector.

He said that Kenya is prioritizing investments in increasing access to water because of its impact to health and other social indicators.

The government official noted that most of those without access to clean water are in the rural areas.

He added that 70 percent of rural communities depend on boreholes as it is a more reliable source of water as compared to conventional water systems such as rivers.

He observed that boreholes are a cheaper and faster source of water for clean water.

Chelugui said that one of the key government interventions to boost water supply is through increased water harvesting of rainwater.