Karonga Water Supply Project to start October

Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) chief executive officer Titus Mtegha says construction works for the much anticipated $26.7 million (about K19 billion) Karonga Water Supply Project is expected to start this October.

The project will upgrade the water treatment plant from the current production of 12 million litres to 31 million litres per day and increase storage tanks capacity by 10 million litres to provide potable water in the district.

In an interview yesterday, Mtegha said the consultant Engineering Consultants Group of Egypt, is finalising the designs.

“Our plan is that by August this year we should identify a contractor who will start the work in October,” he said.

Mtegha said the project will put in place a new system that will address water challenges and serve the district and surrounding areas up to 2035.

He said: “The current water supply system has less capacity to satisfy the demand. People at Karonga Boma get potable water for less than 16 hours a day.

“There is also no water supply in the newly developed areas surrounding Karonga town.”

 Karonga District Council chairperson Steve Simsokwe said people in Karonga are keen to see the implementation of the project.

“We are also pleased that the water supply is being extended to remote areas where people drink from unprotected sources,” he said.

Once completed, the new water supply system will serve 184 000 people and extend to Pusi near Songwe Border, Nyungwe and Mpata trading centres.

The project will be financed by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Opec Fund for International Development.