Ofid approves K8.8bn for Nkhata Bay water project

The Opec Fund for International Development (Ofid) has approved a $12 million (about K8.8 billion) public sector loan agreement for Nkhata Bay Town Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

The project, to be implemented by Northern Region Water Board (NRWB), seeks to improve healthy living standards for 125 000 people in the district.

It comes barely a month after the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a $15 million (about K11 billion) grant for Nkhata Bay Town Water Supply and Sanitation Project, whose cost is estimated at $30.4 million (about K22.3 billion) but Malawi Government is expected to contribute $3.4 million.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ofid says the loan will finance infrastructure related to potable water and safe sanitation as part of the Nkhata Bay Water Supply Project.

Reads the statement: “On completion, the project will ensure the regular delivery of clean drinking water, with an anticipated capacity increase from 1 450 cubic meters (m3) of potable water a day to nearly 20 000 m3.”

According to the statement, the loan was signed by Ofid director general  Abdulhamid Alkhalifa and the Ambassador of Malawi to Germany Michael Kamphambe Nkhoma.

In an interview yesterday,  NRWB public relations manager Edward Nyirenda said Nkhata Bay has been one of the board’s most challenging schemes as the water demand is much higher than the capacity of the water supply system.

“No major rehabilitation or upgrading works have been carried out on the distribution pipe network since 2003,” he said.

On sanitation, Nyirenda said the district has no public sewerage system except for the private waterborne sewerage system operated by Nkhata Bay District Hospital.

In August, the two also signed a $15 million loan agreement for the Karonga Town Water Supply Project that will expand the capacity of potable water supplies in the district and benefiting an estimated 185 000 residents.

So far, Ofid has committed over $172 million (about K126.4 billion) in public sector loans to the country.