Located in Arsi Zone, the project is expected to benefit 70,000 people
PUBLISHED ON SEP 16,2017 [ VOL 18 ,NO 907]
A new water supply project, delayed for over eight years finally becomes operational in Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, with a cost of 46 million Br.
The project is designed to provide potable water to 70,000 people who live in Kore and Aradyita Weredas. It includes installing pumps, generators and other pipe fitting accessories.
It is a part of the regional state’s Water, Mineral & Energy Bureau (OWMEB) project to construct 52 water projects with a cost of close to three billion Br, of which 34 projects are under construction.
Starting from Kore, the project passes through 48Km of transmission and distribution pipes, having four ponds. It provides water for four cattle troughs and 17 water points.
OWMEB is the owner of the project that hired a contractor and financed the project.
The construction work was delayed due to the under performance of the first contractor, Dome Contractor, and the cancellation of the bid, according to Gezahegn Lemecha, OWMEB deputy head and leader of Clean Water Work Process.
“Although the previous company had been undertaking the project for seven years, it did not manage to complete and handover the project as per the plan,” he said. “Taking this into account, we suspended the contractor from the project.”
Following the suspension, the Bureau awarded WADA Engineering Plc to take over the project nine months ago with a contractual payment of 8.7 million Br. The remaining amount was paid to Dome for some construction works that were undertaken by the Bureau.
“We have undertaken the civil works of the project,” said Abebe Angasa, a shareholder and general manager of WADA, founded in 2014.
WADA, the grade two contractor, completed the project seven months ahead of the scheduled time.
It has been involved in the construction of seven water supply projects such as Shebe and Jimma. Three months ago, it refurbished Yemariam River, located at a locality Kechene in Addis Abeba, with 16 million Br.
In the past fiscal year, the Bureau has completed 72 water supply projects in various parts of the region, providing pure water to half a million people.
Currently, more than 207 water supply projects are undergoing at zonal levels since 2014.
Also, the five-year-long program, One Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WaSH) national program, is undertaking in nine regional states including Oromia, supplying potable water to two million people. The program was designed for rural water development in more than 145 towns.
In 2015/16, the water coverage in Oromia Regional State reached 53.3pc whereas about 63pc of the population has access to potable water at a national level, according to Ministry of Water, Irrigation & Electricity.
Currently, 60pc of the total population in Oromia Regional State gets potable water.
BY BERHANE HAILEMARIAM
FORTUNE STAFF WRITEROriginal write up link: https://addisfortune.net/articles/stalled-water-project-gets-back-on-track/
