Zambia is set to commence the construction of the US $450m Kafubu water project that is being undertaken by China Complete Engineering Cooperation which upon completion, it is set to reduce non-revenue water from the current 50% to less than 20% upon completion.
Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company
The Director of Engineering at Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company, Bernard Phiri confirmed the news and said that the 120 million cubic meters dam will improve the supply of water in neighboring areas.
“268 houses have so far been constructed, with 30 of the affected families relocated. This will be facilitated by US $1.5m that has since been set aside for resettlement compensation,” he said.
Additionally, he pointed out that equipment like pipes are being imported from China and will be installed from the copper belt regions of Masaiti to Ndola, covering a distance of approximately 45 kilometers.
Overhead reservoir tank at Kafulafuta
Plans have also been disclosed to put up an overhead reservoir tank at Kafulafuta. This will pump water from the dam to enable constant water supply. The water utility has noticed cases of vandalism with regards to the pipes, leading to unnecessary leakages.
Presently, non-revenue water and competitive water tariffs are one of the biggest challenges facing the water and sewerage utilities in Zambia. Efforts have been made to improve profitability and revenue generation power. Social and political consideration is also acting as a hindrance since the cutting supply to high density residential areas is more or less a health and political matter.
Extract from constructionreviewonline.com