Environmental solutions company Veolia has been awarded a $101-million contract to improve water supply and sanitation in Zambia.
The contract, awarded by Kafubu Water & Sewerage Company (KWSC) last month, aims to upgrade the water and wastewater services in the Ndola, Luanshya and Masaiti urban areas, and to enable KWSC to operate the facilities in an efficient and sustainable way.
It is expected that, by 2020, the inhabitants of the three urban areas will increase from 600 000 to 900 000 and will benefit from the project through improved health conditions and more reliable water supply and sanitation services.
The existing water and wastewater facilities are in a progressive state of physical deterioration, with 67% of water wasted through leakage in the distribution network and sewer overflows, which flood streets and roads, resulting in serious damage to property and threatening health.
The rehabilitation programme comprises about 147 km of distribution networks for drinking water, as well as 21 groundwater wells, six raw water intake installations for surface water, six waterworks and 18 pumping stations. Also, nine wastewater treatment plants will be renovated and about 30 km of sewer networks will be upgraded.
The project will be undertaken over 30 months and is expected to be completed by September 2017.