The expansion of the Daboase Water Treatment Plant in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis is inching towards completion, with the €70 million plant currently about 98 per cent complete.
This is in addition to other improvements at the Inchaban treatment plant in the Shama District.
When completed, the two are expected to ease water supply in the area and meet the growing water demand of residents, businesses and industries in the Sekondi–Takoradi Metropolis and the wider Western Region.
The current situation in the metropolis is dire as residents, businesses, industries and port services struggle to access water for daily use.
The activities of illegal miners, often referred to as galamsey, on water bodies have posed a severe threat to raw water supplies by contaminating water sources, increasing treatment costs and clogging, thereby forcing the shutdown of treatment plants.
Daboase plant
The Daboase Water Treatment Plant expansion forms part of a major government water supply project being implemented through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) to address water shortages in the Sekondi–Takoradi Metropolis and nearby towns.
The project involves the construction of a new conventional water treatment facility capable of producing 22 million gallons of treated water per day, which is a significant increase from the old plant’s capacity of approximately six million gallons per day. The project is being executed by Austrian construction firm, Strabag Engineering.
The Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, during a two-day working visit to the Western Region, urged residents, community leaders and traditional authorities to continue to join the fight against illegalities that could affect water supply.
He observed that the ongoing fight would be won through collective effort to safeguard the environment and ensure a regular water supply for millions who depended on it.
Improving supply
The minister said the government was fully aware of the persistent water challenges in the metropolis and remained determined to address them, assuring residents of Sekondi-Takorad and surrounding industrial and commercial facilities that the government was committed to the expansion project.
He said as the plant inched towards completion, there would be need to ensure constant and unimpeded water sources for processing, which meant that the fight against illegal mining must be taken to the next level and ensure a sustained water supply for all.
Completing on schedule
Speaking after going round the new facility, Mr Adjei commended the team at Ghana Water and the contractor working on the project, saying, “I am happy to note that the project is within schedule.
“The contractors say the project is about 98 per cent complete, with only a few remaining works to be finalised, and this means there are few things left to be done and all things being equal, we are looking at May to have the plant operational,” he added.
Project
The Project Manager for Strabag Engineering, Vlad Falup, said the project was at an advanced stage, with most major installations completed.
Remaining works, he stated, were finishing works such as roads, final painting and other minor works.
“Our main focus now is the pre-commissioning stage, where we are testing the equipment to ensure everything is ready to operate and treat water,” he told the minister and his entourage..
The plant, he also indicated, was equipped with a high-lift pumping station with six pumps already installed to send treated water to the metropolis and other communities.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh