adminFaith Phiri Sunday news reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has received a shot in the arm after the African Development Bank (AfDB) released a 24 million euro grant to the Government to finance the city’s water and sewerage reticulation services.
The project will include solar power generation as well as pre-feasibility for power generation from solid waste.
In a statement, the city’s acting town clerk Mrs Sikhangele Zhou said the council was now inviting bidders for the envisaged projects.
“Procurement of goods and works will be in accordance with the bank’s rules of procedure for the procurement of goods and works and will include refurbishing of water treatment plants, upgrading of water mains, mains renewal or replacement, construction of public stand posts in Cowdray Park, rehabilitation of outfall sewer and rehabilitation of public toilets.
“The proposed project’s emphasis is on rehabilitating and enhancing the water supply system, strengthening institutional aspects, enhancing service delivery efficiency and improvement of the environmental sanitation,” said Mrs Zhou.
According to the AfDB on its website, when the project is fully implemented it will benefit about 471 798 people living in the affected catchment areas, thus eliminating health hazards.
“The project looks into the sanitation of the town, with the whole city set to benefit from refurnished toilets, hygiene education and improved maintenance capacity, whereas the intervention on sewer reticulation and treatment works will benefit about 471 798 people living in the affected catchment areas, thus eliminating health hazards. Even those that have to walk long distances to get water will be put to break.
“The project will not only meet the domestic and industrial demands of the Bulawayo citizens, but of neighbouring towns like Esigodini as it also involves the installation of Electro Mechanical Equipment at Fernhill and Ncema Pump Station,” said the bank.
Bulawayo has been facing perennial water shortages, which have been attributed to increasing demand. At the height of the crisis, the city was forced to introduce 96 hours of water rationing every week.
The last dam to be commissioned was built in 1976, since then no dam has been built to correspond with the city’s increasing population.
ln December, the AfDB board of directors announced the approval of the grant to the BCC following their executive committee meeting in Abidjan, lvory Coast.
The project, which will be implemented in four years starting next month, will focus on rehabilitating and enhancing water supply system, strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing service delivery and efficiency and improvement of environmental sanitation.
“This will be achieved through targeted investment and intervention in critical aspects of the water and sanitation infrastructure, as well as relevant institutional and capacity building, by providing safe water and ensuring safe disposal of sewage, improving the efficiency of water and sanitation infrastructure and enhancing operational and financial efficiency of service delivery. Some of the key outcomes are improved household access to municipal water supply, reduced environmental pollution from raw sewage and improved utility efficiency,” said AfDB.
Online Reporter