国内英语新闻:China Exim Bank lauds progress of Accra water project

ACCRA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- A Senior manager of the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) told Xinhua Sunday that its largest funded project for water supply to Accra is going smoothly.

General Manager (GM) of the Concessionary Loans Department of the bank Mr. Li Jichen who paid a working visit to the project site at Dodowa, about 45 km north of the capital, said, after meeting with the project contractors, that the water project would benefit Ghanaians especially when there is a sharp gap between the water demand and supply in Ghana.

The China Government in 2010 granted Ghana a special concessionary supplier's credit facility of around 260 million U.S. dollars through the China EXIM Bank for the project being executed by the China Gezhouba Company Group (CGCG) International near Dodowa.

After the project completed, it is expected to deliver at least 40 million gallons of water per day (40 mgd) to the Accra metropolis.

"We are happy we are contributing to provide relief in the difficulties in water supply and access to water to about one million people in Accra," Li said.

Managing Director for Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) Kweku Botwe told Xinhua in a telephonic interview Sunday that the project was expected to serve consumers and communities in the eastern side of Accra, including all communities along the route of the pipeline from Kpong to Madina.

He said the project was expected to complete between 2015 and 2016 to bring relief to unserved and underserved consumers.

The capital is currently served by the Kpong Water Treatment Plant, located 54 km north of Tema.

While total water demand for the Accra –Tema metropolises and their environs was 150 million mgds, there is a demand deficit of 48 million mgds.

The 54-km pipeline from Kpng that supplies water to residents of Accra, Tema and surrounding areas was constructed in 1966 with a capacity of 42 million gallons per day. This is augmented with supplies from the Weija dam constructed about 20 km west of the city center in 1952 with a 64-mgd capacity.

While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) requested that about 78 percent of the population should have access to potable drinking water by 2015, 62 percent of Ghana population had access to potable drinking water as at 2010.