$1.49B FOR URBAN WATER SUPPLY -DANIEL ADJETEY

The Deputy Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) Daniel Adjetey has disclosed that an amount of $1.49 billion is needed for the expansion of urban water supply facilities to meet demand by 2020.Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, Mr. Adjetey said this was the result of a sector development programme document prepared by the GWCL in 2006. This was after a strategic investment programme study undertaken in 1998 which indicated that the company needed an investment of about 1.6 billion to satisfy consumer demand in urban water supply by 2020.The current production trend shows that GWCL is very far from meeting customers’ satisfaction and expectation. While population is growing at about 2.6% per annum together with improved living standards among the urban majority and the attendant use of more water, sector expansion has on the average been hovering around 1% per annum.At present, the GWCL operates 86 urban water supply systems with an installed capacity of about 740,640 cubic litres per day throughout Ghana. Current potable demand in the urban areas is estimated at 1,101,032 litres per day while avaerage daily production is about 646,495 litres.Effective urban water supply coverage is about 58 per cent, a coverage considered quite low compared with the United Nations Millennium development Goals and Ghana's Growth and Poverty Reduction strategy targets.He said it was due to failure to achieve the needed results and the many problems confronting the sector that led to governments implemention of sectorial programmes to re-engineer to conform with worldwide trend of private participation in urban water supply.The GWCL has entered into a five year management contract with Aqua Vitens Rand Limited, a Dutch-South African company, to manage and operate Ghana's urban water systems.Following the contract, the World bank has provided a grant of $103 million to supplement $5 million offered by the Nordic development Fund and $12 million provided by Ghana government.Mr. Adjetey said his outfit has spent about $814,000 to replace old defective pipelines in several major cities, and has undertaken main extensions in newly developing and deprived areas in the countries.Outlining some of the company's achievements, he said appreciable improvements have been recorded in urban water delivery. water production hads also increased from the level of 211.7mm3 in 2006 to 314.2mm3 in 2007. Water sales also went up from 100.1 million Ghana cedis in 2006 to 103.9 million Ghana cedis in 2007.The Government of Ghana is committed towards the supply and delivery of potable water to both urban and peri-urban communities. In line with this commitment, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has since 2001, undertaken major expansion and rehabilitation works on a number of urban water supply systems throughout the country. Presently, several of these water supply projects have been completed while others are at various stages of completion. The government has also secured fund for the rehabilitation and expansion of other urban water supply schemes across the length and breadth of the country. Furthermore, the government is aggressively looking for funds for other planned projects aimed at rehabilitating and expanding water supply systems in several cities and towns in the country. We at GWCL are always committed in providing clean,safe and high quantity of water.