Two African Water Facility Projects Launched In Ghana
The African Water Facility (AWF), in line with its mandate to Improve Water Governance and Service Delivery as well as innovation-promoting investments, has launched two projects, both co-financed through grants to the Water Resources Commission of Ghana.
The first grant of Euro 0.50 million is to support the implementation of the Design for Re-use project which will seek to contribute to Harvesting the Value of Effluents and Nutrients for Sustaining the Operations of Sanitation Facilities. As such, it aims at the improvement of the long-term operation and integrity of wastewater and faecal sludge treatment plants in urban Ghana, and shall be supported through a novel, market- and reuse-oriented approach to sanitation. Effectively capturing the resource value of wastewater, faecal sludge and treatment by-products can facilitate robust sanitation systems that simultaneously close the water and nutrient loops. Pilot plants located in Greater-Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi and Kumasi, will progressively transfer the Design for Reuse model to other cities in Ghana and Africa at large. The project will also train local engineers and planners to employ a reuse-oriented planning process for the design and implementation of future wastewater and faecal sludge treatment plants based on the earlier results of the project. The expected outcomes of the project include the reuse of effluents for irrigation and the respect of the World Health Organization (WHO) standards for one Wastewater Treatment Plant at the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School in Accra. In addition, the knowledge products based on action research for the aquaculture, compost and biogas value chains will provide implemen¬tation plans for existing treatment plants in Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Legon as well as transferable road maps for plants with comparable conditions.
The second grant of Euro 1.83 million is to support the Re-optimisation and Re-operation Study of the Akosombo and Kpong Dams. This Project will seek to contribute to the restoration of downstream ecosystem functions. The main outcomes include improved downstream ecosystems and human livelihoods for the downstream communities; maintained electric power output from the dams; and reduced incidence of water borne disease vectors. The results and lessons learnt shall be documented and disseminated widely for application to the current inventory of major dams and to the next generation of dams to make them more environmentally compatible.
The launching ceremony took place on 10 January 2010 under the auspices of the Resident Representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Ms Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade. Presentations on procurement, disbursement and financial management rules and procedures by GHFO Specialist took place on 10 and 11 January. Working groups on meeting the conditions for grant effectiveness, rapid first disbursement and initial procurement and project management activities were subsequently held on 11 and 12 January 2011.
This article was originally posted on West Africa Business Communities
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