The Manager of the Upper East Regional Water Supply project, Annelies De Beule, has indicated that work on the first phase of the new water treatment plant at Tono in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality is 96 percent complete.
Speaking during the tour of the facility, she said the treatment plant which has a pumping station and raw water transmission pipeline, when completed, would have the capacity to produce 20.5cubic metres of water per day.
Annelies De Beule said this when she showed Mr. Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, and Mr. Stephen Yakubu, the Regional Minister round the facility and also disclosed that,; the handing over is scheduled for the end of October 2021.
The Deputy Minister was on a working visit to the Region to inspect ongoing works on water projects at Tono and Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga East District. He also, as part of his tour, visited the old water treatment plant at Vea in the Bongo District.
Second phase 69% complete
On the second phase of the project, Annelies De Beule said it was 69 per cent complete and would consist of a nine kilometre transmission line to Zuarungu, an upgrade of the connection to Bongo, 53 kilometres of distribution lines, one elevated reservoir at Zuarungu of 400 metre square, and the installation of 4800 house connections.
Touching on the other water treatment project, Annelies De Beule said the rehabilitation of the existing Vea water treatment plant would continue after the Tono treatment plant is fully operational.
She therefore noted that a total of 67 kilometres of the main transmission lines to Navrongo, Bolgatanga, Tindonmolgo, and Paga has been completed.
“18km of distribution lines have been installed under this phase, with one elevated reservoir at the Navrongo District Assembly (DA), with a capacity of 600 metre square.
Annelies De Beule
A booster pumping station to Paga is also constructed at the DA. All existing reservoirs in the system have been rehabilitated.”
Complete project within time frame
In an interaction with the media also, after the tour of the projects, the Deputy Minister for Water and Sanitation, Mr Amidu Chinnia Issahaku said work done on the project so far has massively progressed.
He however called on the contractors in charge of the project to ensure that the project is handed over within the time frame.
Mr. Issahaku further indicated that the project upon completion would benefit a total of about 350,000 residents in the Region.
The Regional Minister, Mr. Stephen Yakubu adding his voice expressed satisfaction with the project and thanked the sector Ministry and Deputy Minister for his visit.
He then allayed fears of residents that there would be disruption in the water supply as work progressed.
“As a Region, we are very happy that we have such a huge project that has come to us. The entire Region will have good drinking water and we are happy.”
Mr. Stephen Yakubu
The project, which started in 2018 and is expected to be operational in September 2021, is financed by the Ghana and Dutch governments.
It consists of two phases, the contract sum for the first phase is 33,250,000 EUR while the second phase which started on January 12, 2021, and expected to be completed in 12 months, also at a contract sum of 6,205,43121 EUR.
