Construction works has commence on water supply project in Mekelle city, capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray state. The project is aimed at improving the severe shortage of water supply that is prevailing in the city.
The project dubbed ‘Mekelle Water Supply and Sanitation Project (WSSP)’ is being constructed by the China Gezhouba Group (CGGC) at a cost of US $270m supported by the World Bank. Out of the total cost, US $250m is being obtained from Export-Import Bank of China.
The project includes; drilling of five boreholes, build five reservoirs of different capacities, two booster stations, a collection chamber, installation of a total of 35kms of transmission pipes, build a pump house, guard house and generator houses in each of the borehole sites.
The drilling of test wells and boreholes and subsequent construction activities involve varying degrees of impact on the lives of the communities in the project areas of the city. Accordingly, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has been developed
According to Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian, the project is intended to supply 124,300 cubic meters of clean water every day upon completion in three years time, and benefiting over 4000 inhabitants of Mekelle city. The project will additionally supply water to the Mekelle Industrial Park.
“The project will have paramount importance for the development of the city, beyond providing drinking water,” said Ambassador Tan Jian.Generally, water supply in sub-Saharan African is very low with Ethiopia being one of the water-stressed countries. The situation attracted the attention of concerned organisations like World Bank in supporting any water projects.
Extract from constructionreviewonline.com