Friday, March 29, 2024

The 13.2 million Euros Water Project in Eastern Province Completed

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CONSTRUCTION of water investment projects covering Nyimba, Katete and Chadiza Districts of Eastern Province have been completed and a waiting to be commissioned.

The three investments gobbled the sum of 13.2 million Euros equivalent to K158 million.

Eastern Water and Sewerage Company (EWSC) Managing Director Lytone Kanowa said in response to press query that in Nyimba the major works included the construction of an elevated storage tank of 500 M3 capacity, water distribution system and the district office.

He said in Chadiza works involved major rehabilitation of the raw water pump station, water treatment plant and elevated storage tanks, which were heavily leaking making a loss of 70 percent of water produced a new water distribution network has been done including a 8 Kilometres long transport pipeline from Sadzu Water works to the township.

“A new office has also been constructed. In Katete the major works included the construction of a 1.1million m3 earth dam and a new water treatment plant which has necessitated the migration from groundwater system, the ground water supply system was highly inadequate,” he
said.

Mr Kanowa said the three districts were now on 24hours water supply service following the investment.

He said initially before the project water was implemented the hours of water supply for the districts were a maximum of 12 hours for Nyimba, 4 to 8 hours for Katete and 12 hours for Chadiza district.

He said the construction of the dam and water treatment plants and system have improved the quality of life.

“As you may be aware water is life. This project has already made it possible for Eastern Water and Sewerage Company Limited to supply 24hours of water service and improve reliability and availability of water. The plant capacity for the entire district is much bigger that the current demand meaning that we need less than 12 hours of pumping to satisfy 24hours of demand. This also means that we can cope and
meet the water supply needs of our customers even in the midst of load shedding,”he said.

Mr Kanowa said the major output of interventions the company has planned for the next five years was to improve accountability of water by reducing non-revenue water which stands at approximately 39 percent at corporate level to less than 25 percent increase coverage of water supply especially for Chipata which has the lowest coverage of all.

To achieve this,Mr Kanowa said EWSC would expand water distribution system in the districts with excess water to supply, expand to some growth centres and new districts of Vubwi and Sinda.

He said through the National Water Supply and Sanitation (NWSS) programme under the Ministry of Local Government and Housing. He said the company was optimistic to increase coverage to all urban and peri-urban areas of Eastern province and Chama District.

“The programme for expansion of water supply services in Chipata is underway. Through Gauff Engineering Consultants, details designs for complete facelift of the water supply system in Chipata is underway and will be completed in 2017,”Mr Kanowa said.

He however said the company does not have capital funding for the water and sewerage project for the new districts.

He said with support from Government, detailed designs of the water supply scheme for Sinda were ready and at the moment Government was making arrangements to purchase the dam in Sinda belonging to a local business man as efforts to get groundwater did not yield good results.

“Perhaps hydro-geological survey needs to be done on a much larger area that what was done,”he said.

As for Vubwi, Mr Kanowa said Government through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (MLGH) was also looking for funding through the frameworks of the National Urban Water Supply and Sanitation programme to implement a centralised water supply scheme and probably sewerage system.

“However, MLGH has facilitated the drilling of boreholes in both Sinda and Vubwi districts to start with, though the yields are not very good to township water supply. EWSC is nonetheless, looking at how these boreholes can be equipped and piped to some residents within the townships,”he said.

He said the company has also commenced customer database cleanup in a
quest to establish the number of illegal connections among other objectives.

He said other improvements made so far was the completion of the project funded by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) a German government-owned development bank and the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (MLGH) covering Nyimba, Katete and Chadiza districts including minor emergency works for Chipata district.

He said the project was ready for commissioning adding that other project involved the construction of seven water kiosk in Chipata covering approximately 2800 families as per design.

He said an estimating approximation of 3200 out of a total of 17,900 customers were not billed either as a result of having illegally connected or reconnected water supply, or inactive due to own supply from boreholes and wells.

13 COMMENTS

  1. This is the most foolish dull Managing Director ever seen, he is used by PF to wanting to commission un finished projects.He wants ECL to commission the tu same boreholes when he visits Eastern, The man of the moment HH was in chipata but no such news was told to him. Go back to CONGO baba

    • ANYOKO, be realistic and think like an intellectual. Huge projects are commissioned in phases so long at that stage the people or community can begin to get benefits from it. There is no point to bring in politics in this matter. ECL is still the republican president and the right man to commission government projects. HH is not in the government yet hence he can not commission such project, wait for HH his time may come.

  2. This is good for Eastern Province! Given that the road infrastructure is also the best in Zambia, it will lead to accelerated development. Why can the govt do the same elsewhere? Look at the roads in Kitwe. How can anyone approve such roads as having been done to an appropriate standard? Compare them to the road between Luangwa and Chipata and you can see what I mean. Let’s standardise things. How can you have industry when water and electricity supplies that are erratic? Shopping malls owned by foreigners isn’t development, it’s enslavement as there is no empowerment. Get the basics right! Everywhere!

  3. LT, please get your headlines correct.

    This project is NOT COMPLETED!

    It will only be completed when the huge amount of money this PF Government – the EUROBOND – has been REPAID!

    And that will only be in twenty years time after Zambia has had another disaster of the IMF and a STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM that will impoverish a whole generation of Zambian Citzens.

    Lungu and his greedy PF have condemned our children to debt slavery for their own selfish short-term gains and corrupt use of public funds.

    And they are saying nothing about this. They are trying to hide away the TEN BILLION US DOLLARS THEY HAVE SQUANDERED AND STOLEN since coming into Government

  4. sontapo naiwe HH tumone.Ngatawasonte sela tubombeko.vote PF chapwa

    Never again waste a vote on tribal party UPND

    • When thugs take ownership of leadership in any country democracy suffers.The hatred directed towards HH has do with fear to lose power.HH is citizen of Zambia with every right to aspire for any office he choses why do you thugs get so affected mwanya you think all Zambian are greed for power like you,wait for august we shall show you.where is our money in the pocket,what about jobs I can go on but its pointless to try and reason with thugs.

  5. Credit must be given where due
    Eastern water has increased water supply through the support of the germa government
    And because of the good project management capability , eastern water is negotiating for another grant of over 80 million euros
    Target chipata water supply system
    I’m also told the govt is expanding water productions for chipata which designs are under way
    And with the intent to improve accountablity of water produced eastern water claims chipata will be back on 24 hrs water supply by the end of 2017
    And get yours facts right ! This is not political ..its about the people !!

  6. Problem with UPND and their leaders hate any development scored by PF. I did not see politics in this article but development and progress.
    This is good news every well meaning zambian should be happy. Weldone Eastern Water and it’s MD. It takes people with a vision and passion for the nation to put up such good projects.
    Congratulations and wishing God’s blessings. Hope other water companies can learn from this. This is surely money well spent.

  7. Thumbs up to Eastern water! While others were busy social loofing, Eastern water was up and about mobilizing resources for their big project which has now come to reality and all can see and it has been well documented. Job well down Managing Director and your team. Talk is cheap and unproductive, let’s emulate what eastern water has done if we want a better Zambia. Indeed life has been given to our colleagues in the mentioned parts of Eastern province.
    Eastern water share the strategies with your colleagues from other provinces of our beloved country so that we can all have life – WATER.Bravo???

  8. Progressive people are aggressive people, The fact that the Managing Director of EWSC has spearheaded all those project should be commended. Its high time fellow Zambians we talk positive about development and stop politicking. With this massive over developmental projects a lot of vulnerable people have now access to clean and safe drinking water. Continue with your hard work Mr MD.

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