Ghana Water Company to expand distribution network
The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing has rolled out a project to connect all communities that are not on the Ghana Water Company Limited’s (GWCL’s) distribution network in the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area.
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As part of the project, an 18,000-kilometre tertiary distribution line (the main water distribution lines in the communities) will be laid at a cost of GH¢1.2 million.
The first phase of the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of this month, is currently ongoing at Adentan–Madina and its environs.
During an inspection by a Deputy Minister of the sector, Mr Sampson Ahi, yesterday, it was observed that labourers were busy digging trenches in which the distribution pipelines will be laid in the Accra West operational region of the GWCL.
World Bank loan
Mr Ahi told journalists that the government had also received a concessional loan of US$48 million from the World Bank to replace broken-down distribution lines in the metropolis as part of the projects.
He explained that since the GWCL distribution pipelines were laid, new communities had sprung up which needed to be connected to the distribution network, adding, “There were other existing communities which were also connected but due to the shortfall in the national water production, they were also not being served water by the GWCL.”
Mr Ahi said the distribution pipelines to most of those existing communities had broken down because they had been dormant, hence, they needed to be replaced.
According to him the project was, therefore, aimed at ensuring the provision of potable water for all in the Accra-Tema Metropolis since the GWCL was now producing water in excess of what the area demanded.
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Water production exceeds demand
The Accra-Tema Metropolis needs a total of 160 million gallons of water a day, but currently, following the completion of a number of national projects, including the Kpong treatment plant expansion project and the Teshie-Nungua desalination project, the GWCL is now producing a total of 180 million gallons of water a day.
Mr Ahi said the project would continue in the Accra West and Tema operational regions of the GWCL to ensure that all households were served with potable water.
The acting Regional Chief Manager of the GWCL, Mr Jacob Yendor, explained that the construction of the tertiary distribution pipeline was to have been financed by beneficiary communities, while the primary and secondary distribution pipelines running from the various treatment plants were financed by the government as had been the company’s practice.
According to him, the GWCL dialogued with the beneficiary communities on the financing of the ongoing GH¢1.2 million project, to which they agreed.
“The GWCL has, therefore, pre-financed the ongoing project and the cost has been divided by the number of households to be served in the metropolis to determine the unit cost for every household.”
Writer’s email; doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh