Kampala — THE National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) needs $60m (about sh106b) to build and revamp the sewerage system in Kampala, Dr. William Muhairwe, the NWSC managing director, has said.

Dr. Muhairwe said negotiations were underway between the finance ministry, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Germany government to secure funds for the project.

"The Kampala Sewerage Master Plan is ready. We are now going into the design and tendering stages. Work will begin by the end of next year.

"We should be having a revamped sewerage system in place by 2012, which shall also cater for the Greater Kampala area," he said.

Dr. Muhairwe also said $40m (about sh74.4b) was required for water storage and network intensification.

"We are still trying to secure the donors' and the Government's contribution for the programme," he said in an interview on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, population explosion in the city and industrialisation are putting the NWSC water and sanitation facilities on the nooze. "We have a problem of not only population expansion, but also a lot of economic growth with new industries and housing estates coming up.

"This has expanded beyond expectation and put a lot of pressure on our water facilities and the sewarage infrastructure," Dr. Muhairwe said.

He said previous plans were based on a polulation of about 500,000. Kampala has over a million residents.