Sh36b piped water project for Busia

By Egessa Hajusu

Busia district has received a sh36bn piped water project hoped to benefit thousands of residents by the end of this decade.

The World Bank and the Ugandan government are co-funding the project expected to be commissioned in 2017.

The water project was initially meant for Busia municipality and the World Bank had approved $6.6m (about sh23bn). But the cost has since increased to $10.3m (about sh36bn) to cater for more areas.

The water will be piped from Majanji, 27km from Lake Victoria.

The subcounties to benefit from the clean water project include Majanji, Lumino, Buhehe, Masaba, Masafu, Dabani, Busia municipality and Busitema.

 According to Busia Municipality mayor Michael Mugeni the consultations to have Busia connected to National Water and Sewerage Cooperation (NWSC) stated in 2012 – involving Busia municipality, the water ministry and the World Bank.

Busia town currently uses gravity water, managed by a private operator and is inadequate to cover the entire town.

Dan Otwane of Fechner and M & E Associates Limited, a consultancy firm, was contracted to develop the design of the project. He told a stakeholders’ meeting held in Chango Machyo Hall at the Busia district headquarters that the design has been completed.

The construction of the project will take 15 months, he added.

Also, the project will have two reserve stations in Butangasi in Samia Bugwe South and Dabani in North to serve some 135,000 people in the first phase by 2018.

He said the project will among other things provide a faecal sludge treatment plant where the sewage will be turned into manure.

Faecal sludge contains essential nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and is potentially beneficial as fertilisers for plants.

For that matter, Otwane called on residents to start building latrines that can be emptied.

Engineer Richard Mutua from the ministry of water – also the project coordinator – urged the Busia district and municipality leadership to secure the land on which the facilities are to be constructed and provide the land titles to enable the project be launched late this year.