Central Region Water Board (CRWB) has said it is working on various financing modes for its 16 water projects valued at $683 million (about K1.2 trillion).
Speaking in an interview, CRWB chief executive officer John Makwenda said the board has secured about 20 percent of the resources for the 16 projects, which are part of CRWB 5-year Strategic Plan 2021-2026.
He said: “Of course, we have had challenges, especially on financing of projects as we had set out to invest over $600 million [about K1.2 trillion] in the projects, but so far we have secured at least 20.”
In the strategic plan, the board planned the construction of new water supply systems, rehabilitating, upgrading and expanding existing water schemes.
Some of the projects include construction of Kholongo Multipurpose Dam for supply of water at Mponela in Dowa, rehabilitation and expansion of water supply systems in Dowa, Ntchisi, Salima, Kasungu, Nkhotakota and construction of new water supply systems for Nkhamenya, Namitete and Msundwe.
Makwenda was upbeat that although raising finances for the projects has been a challenge, progress of projects that are currently being executed, such as the Kholongo Multipurpose Dam in Mponela, Dowa District, has been impressive.
“Recently, Parliament passed a financing bill for us where we are supposed to invest €33 million for Salima Town water project. But we are still looking at having different modes of financing the projects, for example, the board intends to leverage on bond financing.”
Looking ahead, Makwenda was upbeat that the board will continue with good performance despite the financing challenges.
“The board has for the past three years been posting profits of more than K1 billion per year despite that it is owed about K5 billion by customers. In the past, it was making losses of about K700 million a year,” he said.
Ministry of Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary Elias Chimulambe hailed the board, saying he was hopeful that more water-related project funding bills will be passed during the forthcoming 2025/2026 Budget Meeting of Parliament to enable the board implement its strategic plan.
