US$10m loan to refurbish water supply systems in K?dua

Koforidua (Eastern Region) 28 April ?99

The Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation has secured a 10-million-dollar Spanish loan to rehabilitate the water supply systems in Koforidua and five other towns in the Eastern Region.

The project seeks to achieve 100 per cent urban water supply coverage in the region by the year 2015.

The other towns benefitting from the project include Nsawam, Akim Swedru, Nkawkaw, Annum Boso and Asamankese.

The Eastern Regional Engineer of the GWSC, Mr E.K. Appiah, who announced this, said the company would have to invest 200 million dollars to rehabilitate, expand capacity and install new systems to achieve the targeted supply of 800,000 cubic metres of water a day by the year 2015.

At the third "Meet The Press" organised by the Eastern Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association at Koforidua on Monday, Mr Appiah said the company, under its short-term plan, is drilling and mechanising bore-holes in communities, and extending supply to areas now being developed, under the government's Public Investment Programme.

All the pumping units at Akorley and Adukrom have been recently replaced, he said.

However the low voltage at the Adukrom booster station has disabled the GWSC from pumping sufficient water to the Amanokrom service reservoir, which serves the towns.

Mr Appiah appealed to customers to support the corporation's tariff adjustment to enable it provide quality service.

The Regional Co-ordinator of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Mr E.F. Boateng, said the GWSC, with the support of donors, is currently sinking bore-holes and wells for 13 of the 15 districts in the region.