Civil and structural engineering consulting company UWP Consulting has been appointed the construction supervising engineer for the Lusaka Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage project.

Construction will begin this month and completion is scheduled for the end of 2018.

UWP and the Millennium Challenge Account- (MCA-) Zambia, a local entity formed by the Zambian government to manage the project, signed the contract recently. It is expected to provide more than one-million Lusaka residents with better access to reliable water supply, sanitation and drainage.

UWP tendered against some of the largest companies in the world for the project, which was made possible by a $355-million grant to Zambia by US donor funding agency the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

The project includes eight separate water supply, sanitation and drainage developments in and around Lusaka, with a total construction value of $250-million.

The contractual value of UWP’s services is around $9.7-million, making it one of the largest single awards to the firm.

The scope of the construction supervision contract awarded to UWP involves oversight of the contractor’s activities, including verifying that the work is executed according to the plans and specifications, project schedule and budget, and providing support to MCA-Zambia in managing and implementing the project.

MCA-Zambia board member Luke Mbewe is confident that UWP has the experience and expertise to ensure the project is delivered within the stipulated timeframe and budget and to the required standard.

“UWP was selected through a highly competitive and rigorous procurement process and submitted the best technical and financial proposal. We have high expectations of the quality outputs from UWP Consulting, which will play a critical role in ensuring coordination and collaboration among the different players working on this project,” he says.

UWP’s contract will be led by UWP water division director Christo Dudenski. Other key staff will include eight resident engineers, a water supply engineer, a treatment works engineer, a health and safety manager, an environmental manager and a social and gender manager. UWP will have up to 30 full-time staff, including technical and administrative support staff, on site over various periods.

UWP is the lead consultant providing most of the key staff, but will be supported by Allione Consulting of Zambia and Metaferia Consulting of Ethiopia, which will assist and provide some of the key support staff.