AfDB to support trans-boundary water project for Ghana and Togo
The African Development Bank is providing a grant of 2.124 million euros for the feasibility studies into the Sogakope-Lome Trans-Boundary Water Supply Project to promote bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The project would enable Togo to secure its water supply from the Volta River at Sogakope for delivery to Lome.
Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, who disclosed this on Tuesday during his turn at the Meet-the-Press series in Accra, said all the towns and villages along the pipe route in Ghana would be supplied with potable water.
He said the beneficiary communities in Ghana would include Akatsi, Denu, Agbozume, Aflao, Abor and Anyako and all the communities along the line to Lome adding that six companies had been shortlisted to bid for the consultancy services.
“Also, a Memorandum of Understanding, which spells out the terms of collaboration between the two countries, was signed on December 12, 2014 in Lome-Togo by the Togolese Minister responsible for water and his counterpart in Ghana,” he added.
Outlining works done in the water sub-sector, the minister said on Friday, December 19, the Kpong Water Supply Expansion Project would be commissioned to deliver 20 million out of the 40 million gallons to improve water supply to communities around Adenta and its environs.
“Two weeks later at the end of this month the additional 20 million gallons will be delivered to complete the 40 million gallons the project is designed to deliver,” he said.
Alhaji Dauda said government intended to improve urban water coverage, currently at 63 per cent, to 76 per cent from now to December 2015.
“We also intend to increase rural water coverage from 65 per cent to 76 per cent by December, 2015,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Joint Monitoring Programme by United Nations and Ghana Statistical Services estimated the urban water coverage at 85 per cent.
He said the Teshie-Nungua Desalination Water Project, the first-ever in Ghana, was completed and plans to pump water into the Ghana Water Systems was underway.
The 13.2 million treatment plant being implemented through a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) mechanism, would serve about 500,000 people in Teshie, Nungua, the Teshie Military Barracks, Baatsonaa, Sakumono and parts of La-Dadekotopon.
The Minister said there were on-going and some completed projects all over to improve potable water coverage to every community in the country to make the National Democratic Congress’ Manifesto of achieving 100 per cent water coverage by 2025 a reality.
He said with all the interventions government had put in place, water coverage would move from the current national coverage of 63 per cent to 82 per cent by 2016.
On Affordable Housing, Alhaji Dauda says “affordability” is highly relative but government is putting in measures to reduce the burden through mortgage facilities that would be deducted at source for a long period.
He said the ministry would develop criteria for allocation and it would be made public as well as lists of beneficiaries.
Alhaji Dauda said the ministry had made some progress towards the completion of the 4,720 Affordable Housing units located at six sites in five regions namely, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Eastern regions.
“To achieve this, the entire Kpone site of 1,526 housing units has been allocated to the Tema Development Corporation for completion and out of that number 216 units have been allocated to the Ghana Police Service for completion.
“The Ministry handed over the Borteyman site of 1,478 units on March 25, 2014 to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust for completion. The Contractors have since been mobilised to site and are working steadily and is expected to complete in 2016,” he said.
He announced that the six blocks of 48 housing units at the same site had since been completed for occupation.
“Arrangements are also far advanced for the completion of the Asokore-Mampong, Koforidua, Tamale and Wa projects,” he said.
Source: GNA