The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) has signed a 14-month water project grant with the OIC Secretariat in The Gambia worth about $22.5 million.
The deal, sealed yesterday 2 November, will spur the implementation of the OIC water project, which mainly focuses at the OIC concentrated areas within the Greater Banjul Area.
The project is funded through the OIC Secretariat with the support of The Gambia government. The signing ceremony, held at the NAWEC headquarters, was attended by the consultant, contractors, OIC officials and NAWEC officials.
The signing came following the contract negotiations and successful approval of the contract documents by the Saudi Fund for Development.
The contract implementation is set to immediately commence with the detail engineering design of all components, the drilling of 13 water production and 3 observatory boreholes in the Kombo South settlements of Sanyang, Falla and Tujereng.
The project contract comprises various components including construction of Water Treatment plant with all requirements such as stand by generator for continuous operations, Water treatment facility, Ground Water Reservoir, equipped with all maintenance and operational requirements. It also has a Pump House Control Room for operators and station Manager.
The components further include security room, workshop building, Chlorination Building, supervisor's building, construction of a medium voltage Power line (11KV) for the Operation of the Boreholes and the water treatment plant, installation of a Scada System for the remote control of the system, and Construction of raw transmission lines from the Boreholes to the treatment plant.
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There will also be construction and laying of clear water transmission lines from the treatment plant to the demand centers and elevated tank sites in Bijilo, Salaji and Sanyang, construction of elevated water tanks, expansion and rehabilitation of the water distribution network in the GBA.
Speaking on the new development, Nani Juwara, NAWEC managing director, said that as part of the infrastructural development for the preparation for hosting the OIC conference later this year, "the OIC Secretariat has identified the water sector as a critical component that requires attention".
He said the project would help to alleviate the suffering of the people, adding that the demand for water is high and that "many communities are going for days, weeks or months without water".
He said the implementation of the project would help alleviate the constraints currently faced. He thanked the OIC Secretariat, the Saudi Fund, the Ministry of Energy and the Gambia government for their support.
Yankuba Dibba, the Chief Executive Officer of the OIC Secretariat in The Gambia, said the Secretariat had arranged funding for five strategic projects, adding: "This signing is the last project that is being started."
He implored all stakeholders to ensure timely delivery with the job quality that the project deserves, adding that Gambians are yearning for clean and adequate water.
